


i've been in love with her for ages

by queen_bee



Category: Emma (2020), Emma - Jane Austen, Love Rosie (2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Crossover, Denial of Feelings, F/M, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, I have a lot of feelings, Mixed Signals, Mutual Pining, if you just told each other how you felt i wouldnt be here, oh what communication can do
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:28:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 41,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25919581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queen_bee/pseuds/queen_bee
Summary: If you're looking for an Emma. (2020) x Love, Rosie (2014) fic, this is it.They say the best relationships usually start out as friendships. That may be particularly true, especially if you’ve been friends for years.
Relationships: George Knightley/Emma Woodhouse
Comments: 72
Kudos: 89





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> One time I watched Emma. (2020) and Love, Rosie (2014) one after the other and my brain could not and would not know peace until I wrote a fic where I mash the two together because FRIENDS TO LOVERS!!!!!!!!! So here it is, a reimagined modern AU of Emma and Knightley (still somewhat in character!) but to the plot of Love, Rosie (obviously it’s not exactly following the plot bit by bit, some parts will be adjusted to Emma's storyline but you get the point).
> 
> Also, this is my first fic so please be kind c:

They say the best relationships usually start out as friendships. That may be particularly true, especially if you’ve been friends for years.

Emma Woodhouse and George Knightley have been friends for as long as they both can remember. For one, they each live on the opposite ends of their street in the quaint and small village of Highbury, which is about two hour’s drive from bustling London. They pretty much grew up together and their families became closely knit when Emma’s older sister Isabella married George’s older brother John. 

Since then, Emma and George would spend the afternoons together biking across town or going out for some hotdogs or ice cream, which are their favorite snacks. If they’re too lazy or if the weather doesn’t permit, they would just hang out at Emma’s place, pop in their favorite movie accompanied with lots of buttered popcorn or lie under the apple tree in the backyard listening to the weekly playlist they made for each other. They were basically inseparable.

But their friendship was something special. Though they would constantly bicker, they would make up as soon as they’d finished. Their families and neighbors would say this is the trademark of their friendship. 

And all throughout their years growing up together, Emma and George were always so supportive of one another especially when it comes to their dreams. Emma was an artist - she loved to paint but she was always unconfident with her work so she rarely finishes a painting. It’s only when George urges her - after teasing her about it - is she able to finish a piece. George, on the other hand, is interested in becoming a lawyer, though he’s not sure yet on which specialization he’d like to pursue. He’s quite interested in real estate and agriculture so he may pursue something along that line, but he’d have to finish university first. Emma loves to tease him on such a boring interest (“Out of all the bazillion majors in the world and you picked the most boring one!” she teased) but nevertheless fully supports him on his career choice.

Emma and George attended the same high school in Highbury, and although he’s only a year ahead of her, he’s actually two years older than her. So when the time came for the Senior Prom, George had a bit of a dilemma. The Senior Prom at Highbury High allowed seniors to ask dates even from the lower years. 

George was not really a fan of big social gatherings at school, and he was a bit of an introvert if one could say so. He spent most of his time at the library or at the coffee shop outside campus either reading or strumming some tunes on his guitar. Most of the time, Emma would be with him, but she would be engrossed in her phone checking social media or doodling on her mini sketchbook she always carries in her handbag. They would usually get the couch right by the corner where the lighting is best because Emma needed the natural light for her drawings while George didn’t really like the dark very much.

During one of their coffee shop sessions, Emma caught George staring out the window for some minutes.

“Your coffee is not going to drink itself, you know,” she said as she looked up from her sketchbook.

He blinked and shuddered. “What? Sorry… spaced out.”

“Yeah… I noticed,” Emma didn’t break away. She knew something was on his mind. “Look, I’ve known you my whole life, I know when something’s bugging you when you haven’t touched your hot mocha, which is your favorite drink here. What’s up?”

“Yeah, no, you see, it’s the prom,” he said blankly.

“What about it?”

“I don’t feel like going.”

“Why the heck not? It’s the prom!” Emma put her pen down. “And come on, it’s your last year, you can at least give yourself a teensy bit of opportunity to have fun! You spent your entire high school life bored!”

“I was not bored!” George said, taken aback.

“Sorry, I meant you were boring-“ Emma couldn’t help but giggle.

“Oh, shut up.”

“I’m serious! Why aren’t you looking forward to it then?”

“You know me. I’m not into social gatherings and stuff. And besides,” he shrugged.

“And besides?”

“I’m not sure who to ask.”

Emma studied him and his answer, unsure of how to respond. Surely he could just ask her? But they were friends, that would be weird, wouldn’t it?

George then finally took a sip from his cup. “What?”

“I think I can help you with that bit,” she smirked but as soon as she did, she immediately wished she didn’t. She wished the idea hadn’t gone into her head at all.

George looked at her and asked again, “What?”

Emma continued to smirk. “Well… I’ve been seeing Jane Fairfax’s tweets lately. I think she has a major crush on you.”

George blinked stupidly. “Jane Fairfax? Your classmate who’s also the pianist of the chorale? Why on earth would she have a crush on me?”

“I don’t know, do we look like we’re BFFs?!” Emma said, now annoyed with herself that she even brought this up. At the back of her mind, she didn’t know why she even did, but at the same time, why did it bother her so? It’s true, she wasn’t exactly friends with Jane and they’re nothing more but classmates but Emma always did find a disliking to her, though she couldn’t explain why.

“Anyway,” she continued. “She tweets about you a lot. Well not directly, at least. Usually indirects and hints about ‘a senior who’s always at the coffee shop drowned in his books or his music’,” she teased.

“Wow,” was all George could say. “But I barely know her! I mean yeah, we’ve played alongside each other once or twice I think but we never actually talked talked. Though yeah, she is kinda pretty…”

This time Emma shrugged. “Well I don’t know, silly. I’m just saying, you could ask her.”

And just at that moment, the door of the shop opened and in went a fair young lady with dark brown hair tied into a ponytail. She had a soft smile on her face as she was typing on her phone while heading to the counter.

Emma and George exchanged looks. She scoffed. “Well there you go.”

George looked at Emma again, trying to figure out what she was up to. “You’re not pulling my leg here, are you? I mean, I know how you love setting people up together-“

She laughed dryly. “No, I’m actually serious this time. Go for it… She’s right there.”

George nodded to himself. He put his hand on Emma’s and she could have sworn her heart skipped a beat at the sudden gesture. “You better be right about this, Em.”

And as if the noise around her faded to mute, Emma watched George walk up to Jane by the counter. His approach made him look like an idiot but a confident one. She watched as Jane blushed and saw her nod with a smile as George smiled himself. Suddenly, Emma felt an invisible lump on her throat and looked out the window. She had no idea what was running through her own mind at that moment and couldn’t explain why she was feeling… jealous?

Just as she was falling deeper into her thoughts, George shook her back to reality by coming back to his seat giddily.

“Well?” Emma raised an eyebrow.

“I have to hand it to you this time, Em,” he grinned. “Maybe I’ll enjoy my last year after all!”

Emma smiled but it was a half-baked smile. What the hell did she just do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lowered the age gap between Emma and George so it would fit the storyline better 😌
> 
> I also made George the younger Knightley just because it fits better that way lmao
> 
> The title is from The 1975's latest song "Me & You Together Song" which is one of my favorite Emma/Knightley songs ☺️


	2. Chapter 2

Emma didn’t see George for a couple of days given his busy schedule with finals and graduation coming up. Final exams came earlier for the seniors to give way for their graduation practices. But with the prom coming up, there were promposals everywhere on campus and it was starting to annoy Emma.

She never really liked the idea of dating in high school. Sure, she was only a junior, but her mindset about relationships was much more mature. But even so, a lot of her batchmates thought very highly of her and everyone wanted to be her friend. Emma was not the snobbish “it girl”, no. She would befriend them eventually, yes, but mainly because she wanted to set them up with each other. George really didn’t approve of this and had said on several occasions that despite Emma’s maturity, her matchmaking activities were very childish.

One of her successful projects was her good friend, Anne Taylor and her boyfriend Randall Weston. Anne and Randall were both seniors and were George’s classmates. Even with her group of friends, Emma preferred to hang out with the older kids. And whenever she was annoyed with George’s pesky lectures, Emma hangs out with Anne and rants to her about his boring lectures of “how to grow up”.

“Oh but you two were so close growing up,” Anne said one afternoon they were hanging out by the football bleachers. She knew this as a fact because Anne was also neighbors with the Knightleys and the Woodhouses.

“Oh no, we still are!” Emma corrected her. “But he’s just so annoying sometimes especially with these stupid sermons like come on, I’m turning eighteen in a few months!”

“Age doesn’t really equal maturity, Em, you know that,” Anne reminded her kindly.

Emma sighed. “Yeah, I know. I just miss the old days when all we did was have fun and not have a care in the world. Now all he does is study and talk about college.” She became quiet for a while. “You’re all going to college...”

Anne smiled dearly. “Oh Em! If only you could graduate with us,” she put an arm around her glum friend’s shoulder.

“But it doesn’t mean you can’t party with us!”

The two girls looked around to see Randall walking towards them with a tall and handsome fellow. It was Frank Churchill, the student body president. He and Randall were good friends but Emma didn’t really see them hanging out much until now, so she wondered why he was even here at all.

“Hey babe,” Randall kissed Anne on the forehead then grinned at Emma. “Hey, Em,” he turned to his companion. “You know Frank from student council?”

Frank gave a wide smile. “Hey.”

Emma gave a small laugh. “Yeah, I think everyone knows ‘Frank from student council’.”

There was a quick exchange of laughs then Randall, sensing Frank’s intention for introducing himself, asked his girlfriend if she wanted to get a soda then offered the others as well.

“We’ll be right back,” he grinned and took Anne’s hand and they left.

Emma was still not sure why Frank was there since they were never really close, they just knew each other on a name’s basis and mutually through Randall. Nevertheless, she smiled up at him.

“So, how’s life as a graduating senior with only weeks of school left?” she asked.

Frank smiled. “Well, it’s starting to feel real.” He took a seat beside Emma and continued, “I don’t know exactly how to feel about it yet.”

“You’ve been busy, I’m sure.”

“Yeah, you know how it is, finals, graduation, prom…” his laugh drifted as he fiddled with the keychain of his car keys. “Actually I was thinking… Well, I didn’t want to be straightforward,” he turned to her.

Emma was a little surprised. But at the back of her mind, she already knew what was going to come next.

“Would you like to go to the prom with me, Emma?”

There it is.

“Me?”

“Yeah…” he smiled shyly. “I don’t see any other pretty girl around here that I’m asking.”

Emma felt herself blush a bit. Yes, she never really liked the idea of dating in high school and yes, the cheesy prom proposals were starting to irritate her. But this is Frank Churchill. He was the student body president and he was really good-looking, to say the least. Going with him to prom would cement Emma as the most popular girl in school, which she wasn’t aiming for but really didn’t mind either.

As if sensing Emma’s thoughts, Frank quickly added, “Well, I understand if it’s all so random and I completely understand if you would say no—“

“No!” Emma said. “I mean, no… I’m not going to say no.”

“So, yes?”

“Yeah, yes!” Emma laughed. “Sure, I’ll go, it will be fun.”

“Are you for real?” Frank laughed. “You’re going to prom with me?”

“Yes,” Emma smiled. “I’d love to go with you, Frank.”

Suddenly, Randall and Anne came back with four cans of soda. “So is it a double date?” Randall called out from below the bleachers. “Also, sorry Em, there was no Diet Coke.”

Emma laughed. Frank grinned and gave a thumbs up. “It’s a yes, Weston!”

The couple was delighted. “Finally Frank isn’t going to be third-wheeling!” Randall teased.

“Come on now,” Anne said as she handed Emma a can. “We have graduation practice to attend. We’ll see you later, Em?”

Before Emma could reply, Frank cut her off. “I’ll see you next Saturday then?”

Emma smiled. “Yup, see you!” then called out to Anne and Randall, “See you lovebirds! Anne, call you later!”

The group of seniors then departed and Emma took a bit of time to process what just happened.

*

Later that afternoon, knowing that the seniors’ practice was finished, Emma rushed to the coffee shop and found George reading _Why Nations Fail_ with his favorite cup of hot mocha. He was deeply engrossed in the book that he didn’t notice Emma come in and hurriedly sat in front of him.

“You’ll _never_ guess what happened!”

George just took a sip from his cup when he looked up at Emma with a quizzical look. “No…?”

“Guess who asked me to prom!”

George put down his cup, now seemingly interested. “Who?”

“Frank Churchill!” Emma grinned.

“Frank Churchill?” George blinked, totally caught by surprise with the response.

“Yeah, the student body president—“

“Yes, Em, I think I know who Frank Churchill is, he’s my bloody classmate,” he said flatly. “Why on earth would he ask you?”

“Well, why not?! He’s good friends with Randall and Anne, and he thought it would be fun if we all went on a sort of double date.” Emma leaned back. 

“Surely there weren’t other seniors whom he could have asked,” George chuckled dryly. He took another sip of his coffee and continued reading his book.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. I just don’t fancy the chap. He’s an arse.”

Emma looked taken aback. “How could you even say that? He’s a nice guy, George.”

“He’s cocky, Em. He’s graduating salutatorian and he’s got nothing to do but brag about it,” he said as he put down his book. “I bet he only asked you so he could boost his already incredible ego.”

“You’re unbelievable!”

“And you’re naïve, Em,” George looked at her. “You can’t honestly think he’s a great guy, do you?”

“You don’t even know him!”

“He’s my classmate,” he said blankly.

“You know what,” Emma said, her face flushing. “You’re just jealous!”

George scoffed. “Why would I be jealous?! I have a date to the prom, thank you very much.”

“Yeah, no thanks to me!” Emma was bright red now, she could feel her face heat up.

“At least Jane is good-natured,” George continued. “In fact, we’re going to see a movie in an hour.”

“Well then,” Emma stood up abruptly. “Good for you and good for her! Enjoy your movie then!” She grabbed her handbag and stormed away by the time George called out, “I will!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes, Emma and Knightley angst :-) 
> 
> Mr. Weston’s name from the original text was never mentioned so I got creative with that bit haha
> 
>  _[Why Nations Fail](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/book-review-why-nations-fail-by-daron-acemoglu-and-james-a-robinson/2012/04/20/gIQAcHs8VT_story.html)_ was one of the books I read myself for college, it’s a good read if you’re into international relations (which I’m a graduate of, btw hehe)
> 
> Next chapter is more soft and pining I promise!!!!!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all those who have been reading and following my fic so far, it really warms the heart to hear reactions and see your messages 😌✨💓

The night of the prom arrived and Emma was just going through her closet, wondering what to wear, when she heard the door bell ring.

“I’ll get it, papa!” she called as she went down the stairs.

Her father, Mr. Henry Woodhouse, was a retired businessman in his early 60s and spends most of his time at home in fear of catching “all sorts of sickness from the worsening pollution outside”, he would say. “It’s not like back in my day when the air was clean and fresh. Urbanization ruined it all!” 

Even if he spends his time at home, Mr. Woodhouse continues to write for the local Highbury newspaper his recommendations and opinions on the latest business and health trends. Oftentimes when George would come over, he would sit with Mr. Woodhouse to discuss current issues about the economy and how it affected the real estate industry. 

He was writing in his study next to the living room when the door bell rang. “Please do get the door, Emma, but close it right away as it seems to be chilly tonight!” he called out.

Emma opened the door and was greeted by a well-dressed George in a black tux. He was pouting and holding up a bowtie.

Before Emma could speak or close the door on him, he said, “I know you’re mad at me, and I’ve been an idiot-“

“A jerk,” she corrected.

“A jerk,” he repeated. “But I know you can’t stay mad at me and neither could I so, um, could you pretty please maybe help me with my tie?” He grinned.

Emma squinted her eyes at him, deciding if she would accept his apology or not. “Aren’t you going to pick up your date?”

“She, erm, she’s going to be taken by her aunt,” he said. “She has an overprotective aunt and would like to take and fetch her niece to and from the hotel, so…” He grinned again. “Your dad’s not gonna like the idea we’ve been standing out in the doorway for so long, you know.”

Emma smiled and finally let him in. George peeked through the living room to Mr. Woodhouse’s study to greet the old man.

“Good evening, Mr. Woodhouse!”

“Ah, my boy!” Mr. Woodhouse exclaimed. “There’s an interesting piece on the paper today about the benefits of investing in stocks at a young age!”

George smiled. “That does sound interesting, sir. Perhaps tomorrow we can have a look through it.”

“I look forward to it!” the old man called out. “Are you lot leaving soon?”

“Yes, papa,” Emma replied from the top of the stairs. “Just getting dressed.”

George followed Emma upstairs to her room where everything was a mess. George laughed softly at the scenario. “So… My tie?”

“Oh yeah,” Emma walked over to him, got the bowtie and started wrapping it around his neck. He was standing only a few inches away from her while she was fixing it and a silence fell between them. Emma finished with the tie and looked up at her friend who seemingly looked more handsome than usual tonight.

Then she snapped out of it and said, “There. All done.” She turned around to get her dress ready.

George chuckled. “Thanks, Em. You know, for a second there, I thought you were in love with me or something,” he teased.

“Oh, get off your high horse!” Emma exclaimed from behind her closet. “I just wanted to make sure Jane Fairfax didn’t regret saying yes to a weirdo who doesn’t know how to do his own bowtie!”

George laughed. “Oh I see how it is! By the way… Is, uh, is Frank picking you up?”

“Well, he wanted to but he said he had to be at the hotel early to oversee preparations and stuff,” she said and came out from behind her closet. George blinked and almost let out a gasp.

Emma was wearing a peach, almost nude-colored chiffon dress that was only until above her knees in length but with ruffled long sleeves and a glittering corset-like undergarment. Her hair was in her usual wavy blonde look but wrapped in a dainty black ribbon for a headband.

“Well what do you think?” she asked a suddenly quiet George. “You don’t think it’s nice?”

“I... You look beautiful, Em,” he managed to say. Then as if on autopilot, he added, “You look like a decent human being for once.”

“Excuse me!” she exclaimed. “I’ll have you know that my fashion choices are considered trendy in Highbury!”

“Tragic,” he muttered. “Ow!” 

Emma punched his shoulder and they both laughed. “So are you gonna drive me to prom or what?” she laughed.

George offered his arm playfully. “Off we go then, milady.”

*

Driving up to the Crown Inn, George cursed. “I wonder how I’ll find parking with all these cars ahead of us!”

“Don’t worry, I think there’s valet available,” Emma said. “Frank told me.”

“Oh did he?” he teased annoyingly.

Emma didn’t respond instead smiled. A few moments later, she saw Frank coming down the steps towards George’s car. He opened the door for her and took her hand as he nodded to George, “Thanks for the lift, man! I can take it from here.”

He swept Emma away quickly before she could say good bye to George. She looked back and saw him smile at her and understood.

*

Just like any other prom, everyone was having a blast. Whenever the DJ kept up with the fast beats, Emma, Frank, Anne and Randall were in the center of the dance floor. Frank and Randall were showing off their corny moves to the girls while Emma and Anne were swinging around to the music. Meanwhile, on the other end of the dance floor, George and Jane were having a good laugh to themselves with glasses of punch in their hands. It turns out that Jane was as much an introvert as George was and they shared a common passion for music.

“I’m not really into these things, dances,” George mentioned to her.

“Me neither!” she replied in a high-pitched voice. “I’m usually at the music room and I prefer to play alone. It gives me room to think and feel the music, you know?”

They continued in muffled conversation until the DJ decided to switch up the mood to something more romantic. “Lover” by Taylor Swift started to play and the dance floor cleared as groups turned into couples slow dancing.

Emma and Frank were still in the middle with Anne and Randall just a few feet away from them. They seemed to be in deep conversation with Emma’s arms around Frank’s neck and his around her waist. And George took notice. How could he not? That was his best friend, slow dancing with someone else, someone he thoroughly disliked. Then he snapped back to reality. What was he thinking? He’s got a date with him!

“Would you like to dance, Jane?”

Jane looked up at him, surprised. “I thought you didn’t like dances.”

“Well, yeah, but it would be a bummer if we just stood here all night now, wouldn’t it?” he smiled as he offered his hand.

Jane took it shyly and they headed for the dance floor. This caught Emma’s attention, though she was leaning on Frank’s shoulder. She caught eyes with George and smiled at him, him smiling back. That was the beautiful thing about their friendship – always supportive of each other, no matter what or how they felt.

When the song reached its bridge, Frank whispered to Emma, “This is nice, isn’t it?”

Emma could feel herself smile. “Yeah, it is.”

“Listen, Emma…” he was looking at her directly now. “I would like to get to know you more, if that’s okay.”

Emma looked at him, unsure of how to respond.

“I really like you, Emma,” he continued, blushing. “Weston and Anne talks about you a lot and you know… I like you.”

Emma still didn’t know how to respond. This was Frank bloody Churchill, the most popular and in-demand guy on campus telling her he fancies her! She was at loss for words at the moment.

“Perhaps,” Frank continued still. “After tonight, I would like to take you out to dinner, if that’s okay with you. Maybe tomorrow?” He smiled and waited for a reply.  
Emma blushed awkwardly, finally finding the words. “Yes! Yes, I would like that very much.”

A few feet away, George could see their exchange and for some reason he could tell what they were talking about over the loud music. His heart sank a little. The idea of seeing Emma, his best friend, dating someone else was something he never considered before. They were always a duo, inseparable through and through. And she was always keen on refusing to date while in high school, but for some reason, this Frank Churchill seems to have caught her attention.

Jane, meanwhile, was studying his expression while they were dancing. “Are you alright, George?”

Shaking his head, George replied, “Yeah, yeah, I am. Sorry.”

“You’ve got a lot on your mind.”

“No, no,” he shrugged. “I told you, I’m just not into these things. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she smiled. “Would you like to sit instead? You might be tired of dancing.”

“No, this is great,” he said, looking at her. “I like being here with you.”

Jane flushed at that remark and said nothing else. She’s seen George often from a distance at the coffee shop but was never bold enough to go up and talk to him. But now here she is, sharing a slow dance with her crush, what more could she ask for?

The night quickly faded and soon it was time for the party to end. George had already taken Jane out to the main lobby where her aunt was waiting for her. He thanked Miss Bates for fetching Jane and the kindly elder woman nodded and thanked him as well for letting Jane have fun tonight.

He was on his way back inside the ballroom when he saw Emma standing out in the hallway, unusually spaced out.

“Hey,” he said as he approached her. “Everything alright? Where’s Frank?”

Emma, realizing that George was in front of her, snapped out of it. “Oh! Hi… Yeah, um, Frank just went to get something backstage. He’ll be back soon.”

“Are you okay? You seem a little cold.” He took off his jacket and covered it over her. “Are you feeling sick?”

Emma wrapped the jacket firmly and said, “No, no. I’m okay. I’m just tired.”

“Are you sure? Do you want me to drive you home?”

Before Emma could reply, Frank came out of nowhere and quickly put his arm around Emma. “Hey dude, I’ve got this. I’ll be taking Emma home.”

George took a bit of offense to this remark. “Hey man, she’s not feeling well,” he said sternly.

“Yeah, I know, that’s why _I’m_ taking her home,” Frank said firmly. “The valet already has my car out front. Come on, Emma.”

Emma looked at George quickly and then left with Frank. Everything happened so fast that she forgot to return his jacket.

A little while later, George was waiting for his car to be fetched by the valet, he received a text message that read, **_I’m sorry I took your jacket. We’ll talk tomorrow. Drive safe ❤️_**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn’t miss out on the opportunity to throw in Taylor Swift’s “Lover” in there somehow!! I made a [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6YqwgOae7U) using that song as the background music for their original iconic dance in the film if you wanna check it out 🤪
> 
> Emma’s dress is what [Anya Taylor-Joy wore to her interview with James Corden](https://headlineplanet.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Anya-Corden.jpg), one of my absolute favorite outfits of hers
> 
> The bowtie scene was one of my favorite bits of Love, Rosie it was such a cute scene uwu I had to throw it in there too for more fluff (as promised!)


	4. Chapter 4

Sundays were usually the quietest day of the week at Highbury. One could barely see cars going around in the afternoon and there were only a few people out in the streets. Sundays were the days George hanged out at Emma’s place the most. He would arrive early in the morning to have brunch with the family and then he would sit with Mr. Woodhouse for the rest of the day, the two gentlemen never running out of things to discuss.

Emma, on the other hand, usually spent her Sundays incredibly lazy. She would get up only when she could smell the bacon and pancakes being cooked downstairs by their long time house help Biddy. Biddy took care of the family when Mrs. Woodhouse passed and when Isabella left home, she became a matriarch figure to the family. 

But that particular Sunday after the prom, something else awoke Emma earlier than usual. As she stretched and yawned, she could see the sun peeping through her violet curtains. She stretched once more and checked her phone for the time – 8:45am. Emma groaned. Remembering the night before, she sat up abruptly.

“Oh God—“ she stopped as she heard the faint sounds of guitar strings from downstairs. Emma jumped into her slippers and headed out swiftly. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, Emma couldn’t help but form a smile as the guitar strums became louder and louder as she neared the living room. She knew exactly who was responsible for it.

“Good morning, princess,” George teased as he saw her come into the living room.

“Good morning to you too, David Bowie,” Emma yawned.

George chuckled. “How’s your sleep?”

“Okay, I guess,” Emma sat on the couch next to George who was in the armchair. “But I’m still so tired, ugh, last night was so exhausting! What time did you get in?”

“Only about 30 minutes, I think,” George said. He continued to strum his guitar. “Biddy is cooking your favorite.”

“Of course she is!”

Just then, Mr. Woodhouse came into the room with a cup of coffee. “Ah, Emma, you’re up early,”

Emma got up to give her father a kiss on the cheek. “Good morning, papa! Yes, I need to be up early. I’m going out.”

Mr. Woodhouse blinked. “Out? With whom?” From behind, George was observing them because for some reason, he knew what Emma was going to respond.

“With Frank Churchill, papa,” she replied. “He took me home last night, remember?”

“Ah, yes,” Mr. Woodhouse said flatly. “You should tell that boy, his car’s air conditioning is too cold. You were very cold last night.”

Emma blushed. “Yes, papa.”

“Didn’t I give you my jacket?” George quietly reminded her as she went back to sit on the couch.

“Oh shit, yeah! Wait, let me get it.” Emma ran upstairs and came back down right away. “I’m sorry I forgot to return it to you.”

George smiled. “Well it’s a good thing I lent it to you then, otherwise,” he looked at Mr. Woodhouse seated in the dining room. “He would have been a total goner with your father last night.”

Emma scowled at him. “Whatever.” She started scrolling through her phone and a silence fell between them for a while. 

“So,” Emma said, thinking the silence was a bit too long. “How was it with Jane Fairfax last night?”

George smiled shyly. “What about her? She’s great.”

Emma sat up. “That’s all? She must be real boring then. You two are perfect,” she teased, but deep down only half-meaning it.

George scoffed. “I should ask you the same about the great Frank Churchill, then!”

“What about him? We’re going out today.”

“Tragic.”

Emma laughed. “You’re so annoying! If you should know, we’re going out for dinner but before that I think we’re going to see a movie.”

“Wow, how romantic.”

Emma rolled her eyes. George let out a small laugh then they both started laughing together. 

“Hey, Em?”

“Hm?”

“Listen,” he put down his guitar. “I gotta tell you something. It’s a bit important.”

At that moment, Emma was still slightly spaced out from the sleepiness. She was mindlessly scrolling through her Instagram feed, liking the photos taken from the night before. It seems as if she didn’t hear what George was saying. Before he could repeat himself, suddenly, Biddy came in to call them both for breakfast. George sighed.

“Emma, come on, your bacon is crispy just the way you like them,” she smiled.

“Thanks Biddy, I love you!”

*

At about a quarter past eleven, Emma was getting ready for her date with Frank Churchill. She chose a comfortable yet fashionable outfit and went with a maroon one-pieced jumper (with long sleeves to make sure her father doesn’t comment on the temperature anymore). Downstairs, George was strumming on his guitar again. Emma could hear it from her room as it was closest to the stairs and she could swear he was playing Ed Sheeran’s “How Would You Feel”.

A little while later, George and Mr. Woodhouse were just about to start conversing when the doorbell rang. Biddy went to get it and in went Frank Churchill. He was led into the living room to wait for Emma to come downstairs.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Woodhouse,” he greeted the old man coolly then added, “Sup, Knightley.”

“Good afternoon, Frank. Where are you heading with my daughter?” Mr. Woodhouse acknowledged him quickly and went back to his discussion with George, whose eyebrows were raised, looking at Frank in the most annoyed look possible.

“We’re just going to see a movie, sir, then dinner afterwards,” Frank answered politely.

“Alright,” Mr. Woodhouse said, looking at him for a bit. “She has to be home before eight o’clock because the forecast tonight is expected to be chilly.” He looked at George, who still hasn’t erased the look on his face. “Chilly! In June!”

“It’s strange indeed, sir,” George said. Mr. Woodhouse continued rambling then stood up to get a cup of coffee, offering the two gentlemen on his way out.

“You come here often, Knightley?” Frank grinned as Mr. Woodhouse left the room.

“Yeah,” George said with a proud look on his face. “For twenty years.”

Frank pulled an impressed face. “That’s nice. You and Emma close?”

George glared. “She’s my best friend.”

“That’s cute.”

At this point, George was trying his absolute best to not give Frank a black eye. Before either of them could say anything more, Emma came downstairs. The two boys looked at her but it was only George who immediately looked at Frank’s reaction. That black eye really looks good just about now.

“Hi Frank,” Emma smiled. “You ready?”

“Definitely,” he replied, taking her hand. “You look great.”

Mr. Woodhouse emerged from the kitchen. “Oh, leaving already? Good, Emma, you’re well-wrapped. Mr. Churchill, please try not to have your car air conditioning too low, it’s not good for my daughter.”

“Papa, I’ll be fine,” Emma laughed. “See you both later.” She looked at George who just gave a nod to her as he was still thinking of what part of Frank Churchill’s face would be great for a black eye.

When they left, George was still reeling from his thoughts. God, how he hated Frank Churchill’s guts. What did Emma see in him anyway? He was cocky and too proud. Sure, he’s smart, but he doesn’t know and understand Emma like he does. George shook his head and sat on the couch beside Mr. Woodhouse who was now on the armchair.

“So,” Mr. Woodhouse said. “NYU, huh?”

“Yes sir,” George smiled shyly. “I received their letter yesterday. I got a scholarship and was offered to begin early.”

Mr. Woodhouse smiled and looked on at George proudly like his own son. “NYU is a great choice for law, George. You will fit right in.”

George smiled again and said nothing more.

“Have you told Emma about your plans yet?” the old man asked as he picked up the newspaper on the coffee table. “Goodness, the headlines today are terrible!”

“Not yet, sir,” George said glumly. “I’m not sure she’ll be happy about it.”

“My boy,” Mr. Woodhouse said, pausing from reading the papers. “If there’s one thing about the two of you, it’s how you’ve been so supportive of one another in everything. For as long as I can remember, you’ve always had each other’s back.”

George smiled warmly at that thought. “Perhaps you’re right, sir. I just need to find the right time to tell her, I guess.”

Mr. Woodhouse nodded. “Now,” he said. “About that article last night?”

*

George was again strumming on his guitar at about 6:45pm when he heard a car drive up to the front door. He quickly looked out the window and saw Emma get off the front door. He saw her look back at Frank who waved at her and quickly left.

“Scumbag,” he muttered to himself.

Emma entered the living room a few moments later looking really giddy. She found George on the couch as usual but this time with a book.

“Evening,” he said.

“Hello to you too, grumpy,” Emma said. “Why the long mood? Where’s papa?”

“He’s already gone to bed and asked me to wait for you before I went home,” George replied, trying to keep his annoyance to himself. “How was the movie?”

Emma put her bag down on the couch and sat next to him. “It was nice! We watched _1917_ because Frank is into those war movies and stuff.”

George looked surprised. “Frank Churchill is into war movies? No wonder he’s a bloke.”

Emma scoffed and playfully punched him on the arm. “Ow!”

“You’re so jealous of Frank Churchill,” Emma teased.

“Oh now why would I be jealous of a bloke like him? He’s got no sense of style to begin with, what a fop he is.”

Emma began laughing. “What other words do you have for Frank, George?”

George opened his mouth and made a mocking gesture as if he was thinking then he suddenly burst into laughing too.

When the laughter died down, George put his book away and looked at Emma. “I should get going and you should go rest.”

He got up and got his guitar as Emma led him out. She opened the door and as they stood at the doorway, George stopped and turned around.

“You know I’m only concerned about you, right? I don’t want you to be hurt.”

Emma smiled dearly. “I can take care of myself, George. I’m not a little girl anymore.”

“I know,” he smiled. “But you’re my best friend, and if anything happened to you-“

Emma put her hand on his cheeks. “I’ll always be your best friend, George. We look out for each other, that’s what we always do.”

George looked at her and nodded with a smile he was sure came out as a sad one. He then walked away and Emma watched him cross the street to his house. Little did they know, the testament of their friendship may be tested sooner than they thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was so soft for me to write uwuwuwuwuwu I love my dumbass pining idiots who keep missing signs arghhhh also so sorry it took a long time before I could continue again, I became really busy with work!! I also decided to change the sex scene in the original plot of Love Rosie for a more G-rated audience hahaha sorry about that
> 
> Anyone else catch the David Bowie reference to Johnny Flynn? 😜
> 
> 1917 stans make some noise!!
> 
> [Emma’s outfit!](https://i.imgur.com/xormzsm.jpg)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys this is a little longer chapter than expected and well, get ready for some angst!!!!!!!
> 
> Also sorry if the last chapter steered off the Love, Rosie plot but I hope to be back on track with this one!

The following days flew by and before Emma knew it, her friends had graduated from high school. Because she was always hanging out with the seniors, Emma had always felt like she was one of them – except for this instance. She attended the ceremonies with her father, sister, and brother-in-law who were all in attendance for George. 

During the program, Emma could see her friends from where she sat and wondered how it would feel for her next year. _Maybe it will be a sense of overwhelming bitter sweetness?_ The thought of it made her excited but then it hit her that none of her friends would be around anymore. Not Frank, not Anne, not Randall, and definitely not George. Though of course she was certain George will always be hanging around her place on weekends, like all times. _Nothing would really change, right?_

Just these thoughts were crossing her mind, Frank was called to stage as the salutatorian just as George had said. He stood on stage proudly with his diploma in one hand and a medal on the other. Emma could almost feel George’s annoyance from her seat and giggled to herself. She tried to catch Frank’s eye but unfortunately he wasn’t really looking in the crowd.

Speaking of George, it was his turn to go up on stage a few names after Frank. He did graduate with honors as well, but George was never one to brag about his achievements and Emma loved him for that. When his name was called, she couldn’t help but cheer loudly for him alongside Isabella and John who have always been the most supportive siblings to Emma and George respectively. Though they were often distant, John and Isabella made it a point to show up when they were needed the most. Emma looked at her father and saw him beaming with pride as well; George has always been like a son to him and all those moments they shared together led up to this moment.

Emma couldn’t help but smile at the moment, a moment she knew would be one for the books. Just then, the school choir entered the stage to close the program and just as Emma had guessed, who else was at the piano but Jane Fairfax herself. Her long dark hair was tied into a pretty bun and she was wearing a blue dress with a ribbon around it. _What was this, preschool auditions?_ Emma thought to herself and rolled her eyes. _Why is she even here? Ugh._

After the ceremonies had ended, Emma and her family went down to meet George. Emma ran ahead of the group to find George in the crowd of togas. When she finally found him, she jumped on him and gave him a massive hug. “George!”

“Emma!”

“I’m so proud of you!!” Emma said as she flung her arms around him to give a tight embrace. “You didn’t tell me you were graduating with honors!” She added while giving him a playful punch on the arm.

George blushed. “It’s no big deal, Em. But thank you.” He smiled and looked up to see his brother, Isabella and Mr. Woodhouse walking up to them. John went up to give his little brother a big hug too.

“You did it, George!” he said. “I’m proud of you, man.”

“Thanks, John,” George replied, still blushing. He then gave Isabella a hug and Mr. Woodhouse a firm handshake.

“All those times in my study paid off, didn’t it, my boy?” Mr. Woodhouse winked.

George smiled. John then turned to him. “So when are you packing it up for New Y-“ but he was cut off by his little brother by gesturing towards Emma, whose attention was now elsewhere.

John and Isabella looked at him, surprised. “You haven’t told her yet?” Isabella said.

“I’m uh… I’m working on that bit,” George scratched his head.

“Well, you better figure it out soon, bro, because the days are counting,” John said quietly, patting George on the shoulder. George nodded and said nothing more but noticed that Emma now had disappeared. He excused himself from his family, who had to leave as well having mentioned that Mr. Woodhouse is looking for some shade from the heat. They were to meet up later at the house for a graduation lunch and George agreed to follow once he had found Emma.

He wandered into the crowds to find Emma somewhere out in the front talking to none other than Frank Churchill. Just like that, his mood got ruined. While he was thinking whether to approach the two, Randall suddenly popped out of nowhere and flung his arm around George.

“Knightley!”

“Hey, Randall,” George replied, giving Randall a quick hug. “Congrats to us, man.”

“Yeah dude, we’re finally out of here!” Randall said giddily. A few moments later, Anne appeared and gave George a hug as well. “We did it!” she said ecstatically.

“Yeah, we did,” George said, awkwardly running out of things to reply.

“Listen, man,” Randall said. “I’m throwing a graduation party tonight at my place. You should come!”

“Me?”

“Yeah man, it’s gonna be fun! Everyone’s gonna be there, even some of the juniors. Frank is bringing Emma-”

George was taken aback. “Frank is bringing Emma?”

“Yeah,” Randall replied. “Hey you should bring Fairfax! Aren’t you two seeing each other?”

George looked stupidly. “No…?”

“But she was your date to the prom, right?” Anne said.

“Yeah but we’re not really dating or anything,” George said, totally confused with this assumption.

“Well I think you should still invite her!” Randall insisted.

“Yeah, it’s a great opportunity for you guys to know each other more,” Anne agreed. “She’s right by the stage, you know.”

George was still confused with what was happening. He just wanted to get to Emma, take her away from that ass Frank, and go home to their family for lunch. Seeing the look on his face, Anne put a hand on his shoulder. By this time, Randall had already gone to talk to other students.

“I can go invite Jane,” she said nicely. “Don’t mind Randall, he just wants to invite the whole school if he could.”

“Great,” George said flatly. He thanked Anne for being a sweetheart and went off to find Emma again. He found her with Frank heading out to the parking lot.

“Emma!” he called out. Emma turned around in an instant.

“George! There you are,” she grinned. “Frank and I were looking for you.”

When he caught up with them he said sarcastically, “Oh have you?” obviously pertaining to Frank.

Frank grinned at him while George just scowled back. Emma was more than amused.

“Hey Em, we gotta go home now,” George said, taking her hand. “Your father, sister and my brother are all waiting for lunch.”

Frank squinted his eyes at George’s actions. “Don’t be in such a hurry, Knightley, you’ll have my girl soon. I was just about to say goodbye.”

George was about to retort back when Emma cut them both. “Alright, um, okay time to go! Bye, Frank, I’ll call you later.”

George gave a final curt nod to Frank and they both left.

*

Lunch at the Woodhouse home was warm and full of laughter as the family caught up with one another. John and Isabella shared how their youngest, Emma, had just learned to take her first steps last week. It was just as Emma and George remembered growing up. Their family, now just less Mrs. Woodhouse and George’s parents, closely bonded through the years.

After lunch, while the older siblings were showing Mr. Woodhouse some new photos and videos of their kids, George pulled Emma to the couch, the same place they were at the night of Emma’s movie date with Frank.

“What’s up, George?” Emma asked, concerned. “You don’t look too happy for someone who just graduated,” she teased.

George laughed dryly. “No, of course I am. It’s just… I have to tell you something.”

Emma studied him. “What is it? You’re acting weird.”

He took both of Emma’s hands into his own and gave a deep sigh. “I got into NYU.”

Emma jumped up. “Oh my God, George!!” He looked surprised at her reaction. “I’m so happy for you! See, I told you you’d get in! I manifested it!!” she beamed.

George swallowed. “Yeah… they asked me to enroll early.”

Emma sat back down on the couch. Across the room, the rest of the family who has been observing, felt the tension escalate a bit.

“What do you mean?”

“They asked me to enroll early,” George repeated.

“How early is early?”

“I’m set to leave the day after tomorrow…” George mumbled, avoiding her eyes. “I already have my ticket.”

Emma’s expression sank as did her heart. She knew how much college meant to George, and she knew that NYU was one of his top choices for university. Eventually he would have to leave her soon. But she didn’t realize it was _this_ soon.

“But… My birthday is next week.”

George felt the tears swelling in Emma’s eyes. He held her hands tighter. “I know… I really tried, Em. But you know how hard it is to get a spot…”

Emma was already sobbing at this point. “It’s not just my birthday…”

“I know…”

“It’s my eighteenth birthday and you won’t be there…”

“I promise I’ll do everything to try and come home-“

“Don’t bother!” Emma stormed out of the living room and stayed in her room for the rest of the day. 

George sighed. He looked to his brother for comfort and John returned a sad smile.

“She’ll come around,” Mr. Woodhouse said.

“I’ll try to go and talk to her,” Isabella said and left the gentlemen in the living room.

“I understand her completely,” George said sadly. “I’m always there on her birthdays and important days. Heck, she was at my graduation, an important day for me, but I couldn’t be there for her on her special day…” He buried his face in his hands. John took a seat beside him followed by Mr. Woodhouse on the opposite armchair.

“If I know my daughter,” Mr. Woodhouse said. “She has the most understanding heart. She’s only upset now but later on she’ll come around.”

“I just hope you guys fix it before your flight, man,” John added.

George sighed deeply and hoped his brother was right.

*

Emma avoided George the entire evening at Randall’s party. She almost decided not to go but then changed her mind and wanted to have fun as a distraction. When she arrived, she was greeted by Anne who later regrouped with Frank and Randall at the bar.

“Hey, gorgeous,” Frank said putting an arm around Emma, who clearly wasn’t in the mood yet. Sensing this, Frank added, “Are you okay?”

“Not really…” Emma replied. “But whatever, I think I need a drink.”

“Woah woah woah,” Randall said, halting her from getting a beer. “You’re not eighteen for another few days, missy.”

Emma rolled his eyes at him. Anne scowled at her boyfriend and let Emma have a sip of the wine in her hand.

“Ugh,” Emma groaned. “Can we not talk about my birthday please?”

“Why not?” Anne asked. “What’s the matter?” They both left the boys on the bar counter and headed to the back patio where a lot of people were hanging out and heading to the swimming pool.

“Nothing,” Emma replied flatly. “It’s just… George isn’t going to be here for my birthday.”

Anne frowned. “Oh Emma, I’m so sorry… But don’t worry, we’ll all be there! We’ll make sure you have a lot of fun on your special day.” She put her arm around her friend and gave her a tight squeeze. “Now don’t you worry about it, let’s enjoy the rest of the night for now, yeah?”

And just at that moment, Emma saw George enter the house, clearly looking for someone. She wanted to stay mad at him, but how could she? He was going away and she was going to be alone. Sure, Anne and Randall were there, much less Frank, but George was her best friend. She felt bad for shouting at him earlier.

Just as she was about to get up and approach him, Emma stopped and suddenly gritted her teeth. Jane Fairfax suddenly came out of nowhere, greeted George with a big hug and the two started talking and laughing.

Emma turned around to Anne who was on her phone. “You know what,” she said through gritted teeth. “Let’s go and have fun, Anne.”

*

The night progressed and people were starting to get really drunk. In the midst of it all, Emma found herself alone by the front porch. She wanted to go home badly as her evening was turning into an upsetting one. Frank was drunk as fuck and Anne and Randall disappeared to probably make out somewhere in the house. She sat on the porch for about an hour before finally deciding to call for an Uber.

Just as she was opening the app on her phone, a car drove up to the driveway and Emma heard someone come out of the door behind her. She turned around to find George and Jane bidding each other goodbye, ending with George giving Jane a quick kiss on the cheek.

Great.

Emma stood up that instant and started to storm away when George just realized what had happened.

While Jane headed to the car with her aunt and drove away, George ran after Emma.

“Em, come on!” George caught her arm. Emma turned around abruptly, tears in her eyes.

“Em…”

She buried her face in his arms and said nothing for a while. George immediately wrapped his arms around her as she sobbed.

“I’m sorry… I was selfish…”

“Come on, Em,” George said softly. “Let’s go home. You’re tired, it’s been a long day. I’ll take you home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAA I really desperately need this to be a movie version (or at least I just want Anya Taylor-Joy and Johnny Flynn to star in a modern rom com because their chemistry is off the charts)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm in the absolute highest mood to continue writing so take advantage of it as it is :D
> 
> On a more serious (?!?) note, I hope you're all enjoying it so far as much as I have been enjoying writing <3 As always, kudos and comments are well appreciated!

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”

George pulled up in front of Emma’s house. He turned to look at Emma who hasn’t said a word the entire drive.

“Em?”

George sighed and turned off the engine but left the aircon and radio on standby. “I’m not letting you get down until you say something. Please.”

Amidst the silence, “How Would You Feel” by Ed Sheeran suddenly came on the radio.

_You are the one girl, and you know that it’s true  
I’m feeling younger, everytime that I’m alone with you_

Emma finally gave a soft laugh. “Weren’t you playing this the other day?”

_We were sitting in a parked car  
Stealing kisses in the front yard_

George blushed. “How did you-“

“I heard you from my room, silly.”

_We got questions we should not ask but  
How would you feel, if I told you I loved you?_

“Is it for Jane?” Emma asked.

George looked at her. “No, of course not!” he replied quickly. “I just like the chords, they’re pretty easy to practice on.”

“Oh.”

_So tell me that you love me too_

“Em, listen-“

“No,” Emma cut him short. “I’m so sorry I acted the way that I did, George. It was selfish and childish of me.”

George wanted to interrupt but Emma continued, “This is your dream, and no matter what happens, I’ll always support you for it. You would do the same for me, I know.” Her eyes started glistening with tears again. “I just… I’m going to miss having you around. I mean, everyone’s leaving and I have no one at school anymore, you know?”

George placed his hand on Emma’s. “I know, Em,” he said and took her hand. “I can’t promise you anything but I will do everything in my power to make this right.”

Emma gave him a half-hearted smile and knew it was time to get off. “You have to get some rest, you’ll be packing the whole day.” She got her purse and reached for the door.

“Come with me to the airport,” George said as she was about to get off. “Please.”

Emma looked back through the window and nodded. “I will.”

*

George’s flight was scheduled at around noon so Emma made sure to get an Uber at around 10:30am at the very latest. Heathrow Airport was about less than an hour’s drive from Highbury so there will be ample time to get there. The ride to the airport was quiet. Emma was still feeling incredibly sad but tried her absolute best to not show it. But of course George knew this. 

The two sat in silence, and as they neared the airport, he took her hand into his. Emma’s eyes started tearing up when the Uber pulled up to the departures area.

Emma had never travelled in her entire life. She spent her whole life in Highbury and seldom even visited London, only on occasion to visit her sister. The feeling of being in an airport was surreal and it was her first time there. Her longing to travel just grew and she became even more frustrated that she couldn’t just hop on the plane with her best friend right now. 

She walked with George all the way to the boarding gate.

“This is as far as you can go, I’m afraid,” George sighed. He was still holding on to Emma’s hand.

Emma was not looking at him. He smiled and lifted her chin so he could look at her. “Hey, you’re not gonna let me leave with you looking like this, aren’t you?”

Emma started sobbing uncontrollably and flung her arms around George. “I hate you so much!!!” she cried.

George laughed, tears starting to swell in his eyes as well. “Hey, okay, check this out,” he said as he pulled away from her. He got a small item from his pocket – it was a tiny snow globe on a keychain and inside was the Statue of Liberty.

“So I won’t feel so far away from you,” he smiled. “Just think that I’m trapped inside that tiny ass snow globe and you can carry me everywhere you go.”

Emma smiled at how stupid his context was and ended up laughing through her tears. “God I hate you.”

He then opened his arms for another hug. “Bring it in?” he teased.

Emma flung her arms around him once more. But as they pulled away, they did so slowly like either one did not want to let go. Emma closed her eyes from all the tears and their foreheads met. For a moment, there was only heavy breathing and fast heartbeats. 

As if the world around them had stopped. 

George’s eyes then moved from Emma’s eyes to her lips. Of all the million things he was feeling at that moment, one thing’s for sure: he was going to miss her. This was going to be the first time that they will be separated and he was not sure if he could imagine life without her.

“Keep in touch, okay?” Emma sniffed.

Lost in thought, George smiled and turned to head for the boarding gate. Emma watched as he handed his boarding pass and passport to the flight attendant. Then finally, before disappearing into the corridor leading to the plane, he turned around one last time to give Emma a flying kiss and a dorky wave. Then he was gone.

*

And just like that, the week flew by and it was the morning of Emma’s eighteenth birthday. Fortunately for her this year, her birthday landed on a Saturday. And as always on lazy weekends, she only got up when she smelled the bacon and pancakes from downstairs.

Emma stretched and yawned. She turned on her side and saw the snow globe sitting by her phone then smiled to herself. She reached for her phone to check her messages. Dozens of greetings on Facebook, a missed call from Anne, a text message each from Randall and Frank. She quickly opened Frank’s message first out of excitement but immediately frowned upon reading it.

**_Happy bday, Emma! I’m so glad I met u, ur an incredible person & I wish u the best. Sorry I cant make it 2night my parents sent me to my aunt in London who’s receiving chemo… See you soon!_ **

Emma scoffed. This was the third time Frank bailed on their plans because of his aunt. She understands that she needs him, but is he the only nephew in the family who can watch over her? She sighed and continued to check her messages. A lot of them she skipped but she noticed that one person seems to be missing from her inbox. She checked her email, her Facebook, Twitter, Instagram… Nothing. No word from George, which was completely unlike him to forget her birthday. She checked her world clock app – 4am in New York. 

_Maybe he was still asleep,_ Emma thought to herself.

Just then, a knock then Biddy’s voice came through the door. “Emma my sweet, breakfast is ready,” she called.

Emma got up and called out, “I’m coming, Biddy!”

When she got downstairs, Emma was surprised to find not only her father but her sister, John and their kids in the room.

“Surprise!!!”

“Isabella! John! Oh my God!” Emma ran to embrace her sister. “Hi, oh gosh, you’re all here!” She gave each one of her nieces and nephews a kiss on the cheek. She then turned to John who gave her a warm hug.

“Happy birthday, Em,” he said as he and Isabella handed her a couple of gifts. “Hope you like them!”

Emma blushed. “Thank you so much you guys! I’m touched.” Then she saw her father come into the living room from the kitchen, a cup of hot coffee in hand. “Papa!”

“Ah, there’s my princess!” Mr. Woodhouse beamed as his daughter ran to embrace him. “Happy birthday, sweetheart.”

“I love you so much, papa.”

“Come everyone! Breakfast is ready!” Biddy called from the dining room.

There was so much excitement happening, especially with five kids running around the house that Emma almost forgot about George’s missing her birthday. When they all sat together at the table, that was when she noticed that there was an empty chair. John and Isabella exchanged looks then Isabella put her hand on her sister’s.

“I’m sure he’ll call,” she said reassuringly.

Emma simply smiled and said, “Well, let’s all eat! I’m a famished eighteen-year-old!”

*

The day progressed and Emma was becoming restless and excited for her party tonight. She had completely forgotten about George not leaving a message at all. Or at least she decided to. Tonight, all she wanted to do was have fun.

Emma picked out a sequined black dress and decided to have her hair down. Isabella came in every now and then to check if she had everything she needed and even helped out with what make up suits her outfit. She and John would be joining in on the fun and at the same time chaperoning the group as it was the only way Mr. Woodhouse agreed to any of this in the first place.

“Hell yes! We could do with a night off,” John mused.

“Oh God,” Isabella groaned. “Why do I feel like you’re not the one to be chaperoned tonight, Emma?”

At half-past eight, the trio bid the old man good night and departed for town.

“Mind the cramped club, Isabella,” Mr. Woodhouse reminded. “Too many people in a small and crowded place can be unsanitary,” he shuddered at the thought.

Randall had arranged for a private room at the Haberdashery Club for the first half of the evening’s festivities. When Emma, Isabella, and John arrived, the group was greeted by Anne who led them to their reserved area. The music was just the right volume and there weren’t much people yet; the night was still far too young. Isabella and John then excused themselves to head to the bar.

“How is our young lady doing?” Anne teased as she gave Emma a tight hug.

“Ugh, I can’t wait to just drink and dance all night!” Emma exclaimed. “I’m scared for what Randall has in store for me!”

Anne laughed and as they reached the room, Randall greeted them with the highest of spirits. “Emma!!! Happy birthdaaaaaay!” he roared as he gave her a massive hug. “Are you ready for tonight?!”

Emma laughed and Anne yelled over the music, “He’s already drunk I think! He’s had three beers already.”

The two girls laughed and Emma greeted a few other friends who had just arrived as well. Then out of nowhere, people started singing happy birthday. Emma turned around to find her sister and brother-in-law walking towards her with a huge cake with sparkling candles and in the middle a glamourous 18 stuck into the icing.

“Woooohh!” Randall cheered. Anne laughed and nudged Emma to go towards the cake. “Come on, Em, make a wish!”

A wish.

Emma looked around her. What more could she want? All of the people who mattered to her, with the exception of her father, Biddy, and her nieces and nephews all of whom were at home, were here to celebrate and party with her – well, nearly all.

Emma closed her eyes and made her wish. Then at the very moment she blew out her candles, a pair of hands wrapped themselves on her waist from behind. Emma’s eyes shot open in surprise. There were only two people missing from the party tonight, but she hoped for one person only.

She turned around faster than lightning to find a scruffy looking George in a white undershirt and a dark unbuttoned polo with a small bouquet in his hand. He was smiling widely and began laughing when he saw the sheer look of shock in Emma’s face.

“George!!!!”

Everyone then cheered and yelled, “Surprise!!”

“Oh my God!!!” she exclaimed as she immediately jumped on him and embraced him so tightly.

George laughed. “Didn’t I tell you I’d do everything to make it?”

Emma pulled away and punched him in the gut. “You ass! I can’t believe you’re here!!!”

He chuckled. “Happy birthday, princess,” he said. Then looking to his hand added, “Oh. These are for you.”

Emma blushed and smiled up at him. “You didn’t message me the whole day!”

“Well, obviously, I can’t do that when I’m in the plane, can I?” he laughed.

Isabella and John joined them. “Well, well,” John teased. “My little brother pulled a Superman moment right here.”

“Oh fuck off,” George laughed. He gave his brother a pat on the back.

“I can’t believe you flew all the way from New York just like that,” Isabella added.

“Yeah, I don’t get it,” Emma chimed in. “I thought you were enrolling early?”

“Well,” George explained. “I was fortunate enough to not have classes today because of a campus-wide seminar for all professors. So the students were given an extended weekend, so ta-da, here I am!”

The group laughed then John offered to get them drinks from the bar. He then left while Isabella caught up with Anne and the others. Randall was already in the middle of the dance floor breaking some moves and the music was getting louder. Emma and George looked at each other and laughed.

“Does he know he looks like an idiot?” George snickered.

“No,” Emma said, getting her first ever bottle of beer. “He’s already drunk, I believe.”

“Ah.”

Emma giggled. Then she turned to him. “Hey, so when are you going back then?”

George pursed his lips. “Tomorrow.”

Emma felt a little sad again knowing that he was only going to be around for 24 hours but then decided to not let it get to her. “Okay then. So we have no choice but to make every moment tonight count!”

John returned with a bucket of beer and the waiter behind him set down shot glasses, couple of lemon slices, and a bottle of vodka. Randall had rejoined the group as well.

“Bottoms up!” John cheered.

“To Emma!” George shouted over the loud music and raised his shot glass. Emma looked at him fondly as the whole group repeated, “To Emma!” and took their shot.

The whole time she and George didn’t break eye contact, as if each one was planning something insane for the other to do. 

The night faded away and the club started getting crowded. At one point, Emma had lost count of how many shots she had but every moment, George did not leave her side. He was determined to make this night memorable and fun for his best friend. Being the anti-social guy that he was, George was ready to put that aside for tonight because tonight was Emma’s night and he didn’t want to ruin anything more for her.

At midnight, an exhausted Isabella and John bid goodbye, confident that Emma would be left in the care of George. He was already a little tipsy himself but was still sober enough to be mindful of the surroundings. Some time after midnight, probably at around 1am, Emma was definitely already drunk. The rest of their group had dispersed to God knows where, so it was only him and Emma left.

“Come onnnn George don’t be such a pussy!” Emma pleaded as she pulled him to the dance floor.

“Em, you’re already too drunk! If you pass out, I swear to God I may never be allowed to set foot in your house again.”

Just then, “Forever” by Chris Brown started playing. Emma screamed. “Oh my God!!! I love this song! George _come on!!_ ” she exclaimed as she tugged his arm.

George shook his head and finished the last shot on the table. “The things I do for you, Emma Woodhouse!”

The pair took to the middle of the dance floor as Emma pulled George all the way through the crowds. He couldn’t help but feel the chill but upbeat music of the song. Emma was dancing on her own at first then seeing the moment, George took her hand and twirled her. 

_It’s like I waited my whole life for this one night  
It’s gonna be me, you, and the dance floor_

She then swung their arms and freely danced to the beat. George had never seen Emma this happy before. Her spirits were off the charts, no thanks to the alcohol of course, but mainly because Emma was naturally a high-spirited person. She may come off as a spoiled brat to others sometimes but inside she had the kindest heart. He smiled at the thought of it all and twirled her once more.

As the song reached its bridge, the beat slowed down and Emma unconsciously put her arms around his neck and pressed her forehead against his. And just like that, they found themselves in the same position that day at the airport. Around them, the music seemed to have faded away and like before, all they could hear from each other was the sound of their breathing and their hearts beating fast.

For George, who was really getting hit by the alcohol yet trying so hard to think straight, this was a déjà vu moment and he couldn’t explain why. Thinking back to that moment at the airport, he suddenly found himself thinking how beautiful she was. And she was here, right in front of him. At this point, with the little bit of soberness he had left in him, he found himself leaning in and somehow Emma seemed to be doing the same. George wasn’t sure anymore if it was the alcohol, but fuck it.

When their lips met, it was as if George had suddenly gone sober. For reasons he could not explain, it was as if he knew what was happening and at the same time he didn’t. Emma, on the other hand, clearly didn’t know what was happening as she was completely drunk but then again, deep inside, it couldn’t just be the alcohol talking, could it?

As they parted from each other, George snapped back to reality and fully realized what had just happened. And right at that moment, Emma’s head fell on his chest and lost her balance. Thanking his quick reflexes and that tiny bit of soberness in his brain, George tried to help Emma up but unfortunately for him, she had completely blacked out.

“Shit.”

He had no choice but to put her arm around him and supported her out of the dance floor and away from the crowds. By the time they reached the club’s exit, George cursed and decided to fully carry Emma to his car in the parking lot.

“The things I do for you, Emma Woodhouse,” he had said earlier and again now as he helped her sit up in the passenger seat.

“Mmm..” Emma groaned and was a hundred percent asleep. George smiled and closed the door. Before taking his seat at the driver’s side, he took a breath and exhaled deeply. What had just happened? He could have sworn it was the alcohol talking.

Or was it really?

He took a sip of water from his tumbler in his car and exhaled again.

They say alcohol brings out your true intentions and feelings. If there were indeed buried, unsaid, and never-before-seen feelings, he was clearly unaware of them until tonight. But this was Emma we’re talking about. His best friend whom he grew up together with. Yes he loved her, but as his friend and there couldn’t be possibly anything more than that, can there?

George shook his head and shrugged off the idea, finally concluding to himself that it was indeed the alcohol. He was sober enough to drive the two of them safely home and got in the car to do so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOOOO UHHHHHH yeah 😁😁 I have nothing else to say except SHSKDJFHKSJDKSNGJS
> 
> I'm gonna need time to think about how the next chapter is gonna go (this is the most Love, Rosie-est chapter I think) but if you're keeping up so far, this is the part where Alex actually comes back to visit Rosie and he finds out about her kid. But as you can see (if you've been paying attention lol) I changed that bit but I hope it still works for you! I also thought placing the opening scene of Rosie's 18th birthday in this chapter was more fitting; let me know if you think so too! :)
> 
> [Emma and Knightley's outfits!](https://twitter.com/leiascaptain/status/1300855625706909696?s=20) uwu


	7. Chapter 7

Emma groaned. The sunshine peeping through her curtains was exceedingly irritating for her today. She checked the time on her phone: 11:45am.

“Fuuuuck!” she mumbled. She hid under her blankets to block the sunlight. Her head was throbbing, which is obviously an effect from the night before. _So this is how it feels to get drunk and have a hangover,_ she thought miserably.

From outside her door, she could hear the kids running around and causing all sorts of commotion downstairs. Then she heard muffled voices followed by footsteps leading up to her room. Then a knock.

“Whaaat? Go away!”

The door opened and George peeked in, a wide smile on his face. “There she is!” he teased.

Emma threw a pillow at him. “Go awaaay!”

But he just laughed and picked up the pillow then sat on the side of her bed. “So,” he started but Emma gestured him to stop.

“I swear to God, George-“

George chuckled. “What? I was just gonna ask how you were doing.”

She emerged from under her blanket. “My head hurts,” she pouted.

“Aw, poor little Emma,” George teased. “Got her first hangover the day after her eighteenth birthday.”

She threw another pillow at him. “It’s so awful, argh!!” she groaned and pulled a face palm. “God what happened last night?”

George looked at her for a while. “You mean you don’t remember anything from last night?”

“Well of course I do,” she said, palm still on her forehead. “I remember taking so many shots and dancing too much…” she recalled. George was trying to not be anxious but Emma didn’t seem to notice.

“Did we dance together?” she asked, finally removing her hand from her face.

George looked surprised. “Yeah, yeah, we did…”

“Shit, so I probably passed out after that,” she groaned. “Gosh, George, I’m so sorry. You must’ve had a hard time bringing me home last night.”

Seeing as Emma hadn’t recalled their shared moment at all, George took a quick sigh of relief. “It’s no big deal,” he said lightly. “Your sister was still awake so she let me in and well, I had to carry you here to your room.”

Emma looked embarrassed. “God that’s so embarrassing!” she said as she buried her face in a pillow.

George laughed. “Nah, don’t worry about it. It’s your eighteenth, so it’s something fun you’ll be telling your kids some day.”

Emma looked at him and sat up. She put a hand on George’s lap. “Thank you,” she said sincerely. “I mean it. For everything. For coming all the way here, for taking care of me last night…”

George smiled. “Em, I told you. I always got your back.”

“And you’ll always have mine.”

*

After lunch, Isabella and John said their farewells to their respective siblings and to Mr. Woodhouse, who was looking glum at the thought of them leaving.

“Goodbye, papa,” Isabella said as she gave her father a kiss on the cheek. “We’ll visit again soon.”

She then turned to give Emma a hug. “Take care of papa, okay?”

Emma snickered. “Of course, Isabella, it’s what I’ve always been doing.”

Meanwhile, the Knightley brothers also exchanged tight embraces as George was leaving for New York again that afternoon.

“Keep safe always, brother,” John said curtly to his little brother. “Send us a message when you’ve arrived in America.”

George nodded and helped Isabella and the kids into their van. He rejoined Emma and her father at the doorstep and watched as they drove away.

Back in the house, Mr. Woodhouse seemed to be in low spirits as the house became quiet again. He went into his study to get some papers on his desk. Emma followed him with George slowly behind.

“Papa?” she called. “Are you alright?”

Mr. Woodhouse smiled at his daughter and put a hand on her cheek. “Yes, sweetheart, I’m fine. I just feel sad every time they leave, that’s all.”

“It’s alright, papa, George and I are here.”

Mr. Woodhouse looked at George and nudged Emma. “But he’s leaving as well, so I suggest you go spend time with him. I’ll just be here in my study.”

Emma looked at her father dearly. She nodded and left his study to find George sitting in the living room, fiddling with his phone.

Emma walked up to him. “Do you wanna head out to the back?”

George looked up at her and smiled. “Just like old times, huh?”

“Yeah! Just like old times.”

The pair headed out to Emma’s backyard where they went to lay down under the apple tree. This was one of the things they often did while growing up. Most of the time, they would lay out here at night to watch the stars and more often than not, they would be listening to George’s playlist since he declared (and Emma agreed) that he had the better taste in music.

Today was a little different though. The sun was high but luckily it was cloudy so it was a great day to lie down in the garden. No earphones or playlists this time, just the two friends making the most of their time together.

“Do you remember when we were kids, you tried to climb this very tree to see if you could get the farthest apple?” Emma asked as they lay down.

George laughed at the recollection. “Yeah, I used to think I was an athletic bloke and here I am with a scar on my face because of it.”

“It’s not so bad.”

“Yeah, well, it’s there forever now.”

A short silence came between them.

“How much time do we have?”

“My flight is at 6pm,” George replied. “So maybe about an hour or less.”

Emma kept looking at the sky and randomly changed the subject. “What’s New York like?”

George turned his head and looked at her. “It’s wonderful, Em. It’s so different from Highbury… It’s so big and busy.”

“I see.”

He turned his whole body towards her now. “Em, you should come visit.”

Emma looked at him. “What?”

“You should come visit me in New York,” he repeated.

“Are you serious?” Emma replied. “You know I can’t leave papa… You saw how he looked just now when Isabella left.”

“Yeah but it’s only for a quick vacation,” George insisted. “You should go out and see the world more, it’s really an experience.”

Emma thought about it. She has barely ever been out of their village, that’s true. The very idea of getting out and travelling really tempted her, but there were things that held her back here.

“I’ll think about it,” she beamed.

“I’ll even send you a ticket,” George offered.

Emma looked at him with an annoyed face. “I can pay for my own ticket, thanks!”

“No, that’s not what I meant, Em,” George scratched his head. “What I mean is I’d do anything to have you there with me.” From the moment the words left his mouth, he recognized the same feelings again – similar to the night before, except that this time, there was no alcohol. _What the fuck are you on about George,_ he thought to himself.

Emma smiled but didn’t seem to notice. She got her phone and looked at the time. 3:30pm.

“We should get you an Uber soon,” she said.

“You’re not coming with me to the airport?”

_Stop sounding so clingy, George._

“Is it okay if I don’t for now? I want to keep papa company.”

“Of course. I understand, Em.”

A little while later, Emma’s phone notified them that the Uber was already out front. George had already brought in his backpack earlier when he arrived at her house so he was ready by the time the Uber arrived.

He gave Mr. Woodhouse a sturdy and firm handshake at the door while Emma accompanied him out on the street to where the car was waiting for him.

“I’m going to miss you again,” she said, looking up at him.

“I’ll miss you too, princess,” George smiled. “We’ll plan our adventure soon, I promise.”

They exchanged one last hug before George hopped in. He looked back at Emma who was still standing out in the middle of the street. She waited until the car turned round the corner and disappeared.

*

The months flew past and Emma found herself back in school. She was now a senior, and that meant heavier classes, bigger decisions, and more social obligations. She was still the most popular girl in school, but as she was alone now with her closest group of friends already gone, it really didn’t matter to her anymore so she decided to be low-key.

She spent most of her free time in the coffee shop where she and George used to hang out all the time. She got back into sketching from time to time and poured out all her emotions through her drawings. George would drop a message or video call from time to time but mostly he’s become busy as well. She hadn’t heard from Frank or the others as well but eventually Emma learned to accept that they all had to move on somehow.

One afternoon, she was in her usual spot at the coffee shop, luckily way ahead of everyone because for some reason it was more crowded than usual. She ignored the noise and plugged in her earphones to drown it all out. She was in the mood for some David Bowie and played “Starman” as she picked up her pencil. (But of course this was from George's recommendations!)

Just then, a pretty girl with dark brown hair and plump red cheeks approached her table looking absolutely lost.

Emma looked up from her sketchpad. “Can I help you?”

“Hi, yeah, um, is this seat taken?” the girl asked.

“Hm? No, not at all,” Emma offered. “Please.”

The girl smiled. “Thank you. It’s so crowded in here, I never imagined I’d lose a seat here.”

“Oh you come here often?” Emma raised her eyebrows and removed her earphones.

“Yeah,” she replied. “But I normally sit at the bar stools because I prefer to write alone in the corner.”

This caught Emma’s interest. “You write? Wow, what kind of stuff do you write about?”

“Oh, you know, just thoughts and stuff…” the girl replied shyly.

Emma looked at her, amazed. “I’m Emma, by the way,” she offered her hand.

The girl looked shocked. “Oh my God, you’re _the_ Emma Woodhouse?”

Emma let out a hoarse laugh. “What do you mean “the”? I’m just Emma. Emma Woodhouse.”

“Yes but… Everyone knows who you are. Everyone wants to be your friend, and everyone wants to be you!”

Emma blushed. She actually didn’t care anymore but was flattered at the same time.

“My name is Harriet,” the girl continued. “Harriet Smith. I’m new.”

“Oh!” Emma exclaimed. “You’re with me in my art class!”

Harriet laughed shyly. “Yeah, we are… I saw your paintings and you’re so talented.”

“Thank you,” Emma replied. “But seriously, what about you? What do you write about?”

“Oh, um,” Harriet said, fiddling with her small notebook. “I usually just write my thoughts of the day. Then sometimes quotes I randomly find or even notes for class,” she laughed.

“So it’s your diary?”

“Yeah, sort of like that.”

Emma looked at the shy girl who was obviously afraid to step out of her comfort zone. She thought to herself, she was in dire need of a friend and Harriet here seemed to be lost and in need of a friend too. Maybe this could be her chance to make her senior year not as loserific as it already seems now.

“So Harriet,” Emma continued. “How are you finding it at Highbury?”

“Well,” Harriet took a deep breath. “I originally came from a boarding school. But when my mum died, my father ran off with another woman because that’s his coping mechanism with loss and so he dropped me at a boarding school. I was only allowed to leave when I was eighteen and be able to go to a normal high school.”

Emma’s face fell. Everything she thought of five minutes earlier she completely erased. She wasn’t going to be selfish this time around. Harriet really needed a friend. She wasn’t going to make this about her anymore, she was sure of that.

“I’m so sorry, Harriet,” Emma said softly. “I wish I hadn’t asked-“

“It’s okay!” she replied cheerfully. “I still consider myself lucky to be able to experience high school as a normal teenager.”

Emma studied her. Harriet looked sad but she wore it so lovely without any bitterness towards her past. _What an admirable trait,_ Emma thought. “So where do you live now?”

“I still live at the boarding school’s quarters, but I’m free to go to school here instead of being homeschooled,” she smiled. “Mrs. Goddard, the headmistress, is just the sweetest old lady. She cares for us as if we were her own, and she doesn’t have children herself.”

“But enough about me and my sad life,” Harriet said. “What about you? Why are you all alone here?”

Emma opened her mouth to reply but instead let out a soft laugh. “I wasn’t always alone here, you know.”

The afternoon continued with the two new friends getting to know each other more and by the end of it, Emma was more than happy to have made a new friend who seemed to have the most genuine heart. As she walked home that afternoon, she dropped George a message.

**_Hey, are you free to Facetime?_ **

Three dots showed up signifying that George was typing.

**_Sadly not now, Em. I’m in the middle of a really boring lecture but if you do have something exciting to tell me, please do otherwise I’m about to KMS_ **

Emma laughed.

 ** _I can’t believe you’re actually complaining about a boring lecture. Doesn’t sound like you. Are you sure I’m talking to Mr. George Knightley?_** 😂

Typing.

😩

Emma laughed again then continued to type.

**_I made a new friend today._ **

It took a while for the dots to reappear and Emma had already reached her house. By the time she had greeted her father and went up the stairs, a notification came in.

**_That's great! I’m happy for you. :) Can’t wait to hear all about it!_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally Harriet meets Emma uwu <33
> 
> Side note I think modern day Emma would listen to David Bowie primarily because I feel like it would be Knightley's type of music 😜 Also again, the reference to Johnny Flynn, who I BADLY want to make a cover of "Starman" !!


	8. Chapter 8

Emma and Harriet spent almost every day together and the two started to develop a close bond. At one point, when Harriet felt comfortable around Emma, she confessed that she had a crush on one of their classmates, Robert Martin. Emma didn’t notice Robert a lot from her previous years but she knew him to be a quiet member of the basketball team. _Who the heck is a shy type on the basketball team?_ She thought having him with Harriet would just result in absolute silence because they were both shy.

She tried to get Harriet to talk to Philip Elton, the running valedictorian of their batch. But unfortunately the guy had his mind set on becoming a priest so he was not interested in dating at all. After Emma had called him a weirdo, she decided to introduce Harriet to Robert. She remembered George telling her when he was still at school to be more mature and sensitive of other people’s feelings. She smiled to herself at the thought that George would be proud of her if he knew about this.

By fall, Harriet and Robert were seeing each other and Emma felt proud of herself. But at the same time she began to feel a tad bit lonely again now that Harriet’s time and attention was divided. One afternoon, while waiting for an Uber home, she decided to drop Frank a message, hoping he would reply. She hasn’t heard from him in months to say the least, so she wasn’t sure where their relationship stood at this point.

To her surprise, he replied instantly.

**_Hey Emma! Long time no talk. Yea been really busy.. I’m still in London taking care of my aunt and studying 2. Idk when I’ll get back to Highbury but I’ll hit u up when I come!_ 😘 **

Emma rolled her eyes. This clearly wasn’t working out, whatever “it” was. She decided not to reply and close her messaging app. Two seconds later however, another message chimed in.

**_What’s up, princess? You free for Facetime?_ **

She immediately smiled upon receiving the message and quickly replied:

**_Yeah, I am!_ **

Five minutes later, her phone lit up. It said “George Knightley wants to FaceTime…” and Emma’s face lit up as her phone did. She answered it and George’s scruffy face popped onto her screen.

“Heyyy!”

Emma grinned. “Hi, you!”

“How’s it going? How’s everything? So sorry I haven’t been chatting lately, term finals are coming soon and argh, I think I’m growing grey streaks, can you see them?” he lowered the camera to the top of his head.

Emma laughed. “Nope! Still sandy brown as it has always been. And a tad bit messy too.”

“Yeah, well, it’s getting really cold here…” he continued and Emma noticed that he was walking.

“Where are you?”

“I just came from the library to drop off some books that I checked out last week.”

“Of course you did,” Emma rolled her eyes. “What a nerd you are, George Knightley!”

He turned to face his screen again. “I’ll have you know that my course isn’t a joke, this is my fucking life!”

Just then, Emma’s Uber arrived. George seemed to notice she began walking as well. “What about you, where are you now?” he asked.

“I’m getting into my Uber,” she replied as she shut the door. “My class just finished.”

“What- why are you getting an Uber, what ever happened to walking?”

“It’s Friday, okay, I wanted to be home early and reward myself with an Uber,” Emma sneered.

Their conversation lasted until Emma got home. George greeted Mr. Woodhouse through the phone and the old man was amused at the technology. He boldly expressed how proud he was of George too. 

Emma threw her things and lay down on her bed, still with George on the other end of the phone.

“So, Em, I was thinking…”

“Hm?”

“Have you talked to your dad yet?”

“About what?”

“New York.”

“Oh.”

She clearly has not, Emma realized. Sensing her deep thoughts, George sighed from the screen.

“Look, I’m not forcing you-“

“No, no,” Emma said quickly. “I’m sorry if it seems like I’m not interested; of course I am! I really really want to travel. I’m just afraid to tell papa…”

“I understand,” George said. “Hey, remember that time I was too scared to tell you about NYU too?”

“Yeah, you little shit.”

George laughed. “Yeah but you came around and understood, right?”

Emma nodded and sighed. “Alright, I’ll find the right time to tell him.”

“You can still come home before Christmas,” George said. “Let me know so I can plan our itinerary and get you a ticket.”

Emma finally agreed and mentioned that she needs back up from her sister for this. With that, the two hung up and Emma dialed Isabella.

“You’re planning to go to New York?!”

“Come on, Isa, it’s just for a week or so…” Emma pleaded. “This means a lot to me and to George as well.”

“You best hope papa is in his utmost excellent mood because you’ll be travelling to New York in the _winter_ of all seasons,” she said sternly.

“You guys are coming home for Christmas anyway, right?” Emma begged. “Just come a week earlier or something.”

“Alright, alright, we’ll see what we can do,” Isabella said reassuringly. “But no promises.”

“No, Isa, you gotta promise!” Emma pleaded.

She heard Isabella groan on the phone. “Fine.”

*

To say that Mr. Woodhouse was distressed over the weather was the least of Emma’s concerns. He was upright concerned for his youngest daughter’s welfare, given that she’s not only travelling for the first time, but she’s doing it alone. (Of course, he was still panicking about the weather!)

But in the end, Mr. Woodhouse trusted George fully as if he was his own son and so he finally agreed after a couple of days of convincing from Emma, Isabella, and George himself via FaceTime. The condition was to inform Mr. Woodhouse immediately the moment Emma landed in JFK. As an obedient daughter, Emma agreed.

The day before Emma’s flight, she and Harriet caught up at their usual spot at the coffee shop. It was now the holiday break and school wouldn’t be resuming until after the New Year. Harriet was excited for the holidays because Robert would be introducing her to his family.

“So soon, eh?” Emma teased as she took a sip from her cup of coffee.

“Well,” Harriet blushed. “I don’t know Em, I really really like this guy. He’s really sweet and nice and well-mannered-“

“Wow,” Emma said. “That’s a big word, Harriet.”

“Well you know what I mean!” Harriet gushed. “Besides, he’s taking me to meet his mum and sisters only because his dad was a jerk too, so we have that in common,” she laughed dryly.

“Wait hold on,” Harriet continued. “What about you and George? I can’t believe there’s nothing going on between the two of you! From what you’ve told me, he’s such a lovely guy!”

Emma blushed and absent-mindedly checked the time on her phone. “No, no, we’ve just been really good friends for like the longest time. Best friends, actually,” she said as she looked out the window. “But he is indeed a great guy.”

“I don’t buy it! That’s where all the good relationships start out, you know,” she teased. “I mean come on, he bought you a roundtrip ticket to visit him in New York! I’ll give you 5 pounds, he’s been in love with you all along.”

Emma laughed. “Yeah, well, 10 pounds says you’re wrong.”

“We’ll see,” Harriet smirked and took a sip of her latte.

*

John took the liberty of driving Emma to the airport the next day. Isabella decided to remain behind with their father who was looking glum as Emma carried her luggage onto John’s van.

“Papa,” she said dearly. “It will only be for a week. I’ll be back by Christmas Eve, I promise.” She gave him a really tight hug. “Isa will be here with you anyway!”

Mr. Woodhouse sighed. “Yes, but please do be careful, Emma. I’m genuinely worried for you.”

“Papa,” Isabella cut in. “Emma is a big girl now. Let her explore and travel while she’s still young.”

Mr. Woodhouse nodded in agreement and the sisters took one last hug then Emma was off.

At the airport, Emma recalled immediately the day she took George to the boarding gate. Now it was finally her turn, and there was no looking back. Along with her passport and ticket in hand, she held on to the snow globe keychain George gave her and took a deep breath.

John brought down her luggage and gave her a hug. “Say hi to my brother for me, Em,” he said. “Be sure he does not do anything stupid, okay?”

Emma laughed and bid him goodbye. She entered the airport and checked in for her flight then headed for the boarding gates to wait for her departure.

*

Emma fell asleep on the plane. Her father was right to send her a thick coat for the plane alone because he mentioned that it could get very cold onboard. When she woke up, she called the nearest flight attendant and asked for a tumbler of hot water.

“Oh, and how soon are we landing?” Emma added.

“In about 30 minutes, ma’am, we’re set to begin our descent,” the flight attendant answered.

“Thank you.”

She looked out the plane’s window and saw the dazzling veins that formed what she figured was Manhattan Island. _It was so beautiful at night_ , she thought. What more when she actually arrived.

As she descended from the plane to the arrival gates, she started feeling nervous and excited all at the same time. _Fuck, it is cold_ , she thought to herself. Then she remembered to message her family once she arrived, so she grabbed her phone and sent an iMessage to Isabella informing her of her arrival.

Emma walked out from the arrival gate as she sent her message and looked up to find a crowd of people waiting for the arriving passengers. She tried to look around to see if George was among them, and there he was indeed in a plain white shirt and blue jacket with a bouquet of sunflowers in hand.

Emma squealed and immediately ran and jumped straight into his arms.

“I missed you!” she exclaimed.

“Yeah, you did, did you?” George snickered. “Because it seemed like you didn’t even want to come at all- ow!”

Emma punched him in the gut. “Well, I’m here now, alright?” she said giddily. “So, what’s the plan?”

“Are you hungry? Tired?”

Emma looked at him conspicuously. “No… Why?”

“How would you feel about going to your first authentic college party?” he grinned.

“Oh no, here we go again with parties…”

George let out a laugh. “I won’t let anything crazy happen to you, I promise.” He offered his arm. “Well, what do you say, Miss Woodhouse?”

*

The duo arrived at the house party a little before midnight. It was a college party alright – so different from high school parties. There were much more people and the atmosphere was wilder. Emma was in awe of the vibe and she suddenly got excited to go to university next year.

George introduced her to his college friends. “This is Emma, my childhood best friend from England,” he would tell them.

 _College boys were so different_ , Emma thought. They seemed to have more guts and be more full of themselves. Emma came to this conclusion after one of George’s classmates started hitting on her by asking for her number.

“Hey, mate, no way,” George said as Emma started to look a little uncomfortable. He took Emma to the bar area and offered her a drink instead.

“Are you alright?” he asked her.

“Yeah of course,” Emma replied, opening her can of beer. “It’s all good!”

They both leaned on the counter and as the pair clinked their cans as a toast, one of the girls passing by, probably another one of George’s classmates, stopped to mention that they were both standing under a mistletoe. George felt his face turn bright red, unsure of what to do so he just laughed it off. Emma, on the other hand, didn’t want George to feel embarrassed, especially around his friends. She tiptoed and, to George’s utmost surprise, planted a kiss on his cheek.

No one else even seemed to notice, not even the girl who told them about the damned mistletoe. But George definitely did, and he looked at Emma, completely flustered. Emma smiled to herself but avoided his eyes. As she took another sip of her beer, suddenly, a group of guys came out of nowhere and started yelling and cheering. They suddenly carried George towards the swimming pool.

“Hey, hey guys!” George pleaded. “Not me, mate, come on!” He looked at Emma, who was completely lost on how to react except probably to just laugh at what was going to happen next. “Emma- Em, come on, help me out here- WAIT, GUYS-“

The boys threw George into the pool, snickering and cheering amongst themselves, George one of them. “FUCK IT’S COLD!!! I’m going to kill you guys!” he yelled from the pool while laughing. Then he saw Emma laughing as well and swam up to her at the edge. “Em, will you help me up please?” he offered his hand.

The moment Emma took his hand, she was instantly pulled into the pool as well. Emma screamed and swam up to the surface. “What the fuck, George!!!”

George looked like he was going to die from laughing. But he suddenly stopped as Emma resurfaced looking all soaked with her shirt hugging her body’s figure.

“Emma Woodhouse, you are looking way too hot right now,” he gasped.

Emma made a face and put her arms around herself before pouncing on George trying to push him under the water and pretend to make him drown. The two ended up splashing each other until they both decided they were going to catch hypothermia if they didn’t get out soon.

Luckily, George packed a bag of extra clothes for the night. It was as if he knew that he was going to be the pool victim tonight. He also brought an extra shirt and jacket for Emma as well. 

As they dried themselves on the porch, George suddenly chuckled. “Your dad would murder me if he found out what we did tonight.”

Emma laughed. “Yeah, he definitely would!”

Then after a while, George smiled and said, “Do you wanna get out of here?”

“Alright then! You lead the way,” Emma said cheekily.

George decided to take her around Manhattan and to Emma’s amazement, it was truly the City That Never Sleeps. She hardly even noticed the time; she was too busy having the time of her life. All the towering skyscrapers and bright city lights amused her and at almost every corner she asked George to take her photo or stopped to take one for her painting references. He then took her on board the Staten Island Ferry and she gasped at how beautiful the iconic Manhattan skyline looked in person.

“I’ve never seen so many buildings and lights like this before,” she mused as she stood leaning on the railings of the ferry.

George said nothing and simply admired her admiring the view. Nothing made him happier to see her happy. After the ferry ride, they got off near Brooklyn Bridge so Emma could take more photos. The pair took a lovely stroll, catching up on each other’s lives and stories. By this time, their clothes were already completely dry and Emma was feeling a little hungry. George offered to pass by his favorite pizza parlor on the way to his flat and Emma delightfully agreed.

When they arrived at his apartment, it was nearing 4 in the morning but Emma was still wide awake so she suggested they have a little Netflix marathon. George had no choice but to adhere to this request.

“What are you watching these days?” she asked as she jumped on his couch.

“Erm, well, I’ve been binging The Crown,” he said as he got two cans of beer from his refrigerator. He fizzed the cans open on his kitchen island counter, grabbed the box of pepperoni pizza they ordered and headed to the couch next to Emma.

Emma rolled her eyes. “God, you are such a nerd!”

“It’s an award-winning show, okay!” he said as he took a bite of his pizza. “Have you even tried watching it?”

“No,” she said as she scrolled through his Netflix page with the remote. George then took it from her. “We’re watching it, then,” he declared.

“Hey!”

“Too late,” he snickered as he played the first episode. “Come on, just one episode?”

Emma folded her hands and legs on the couch. “Alright, fine.” She took a bite of her pizza slice as well.

George simply looked at her, amused. She didn’t seem to notice but smiled to herself anyway.

Later on, as the show progressed, George found himself putting his arm on the couch, absent-mindedly around Emma. Again, it was odd that she didn’t seem to notice. Or maybe she did, but didn’t mind at all. As the episode reached mid-way, he looked over to his shoulder to find Emma had fallen asleep and was sound asleep on his shoulder. He reached for the remote to pause the episode and looked at Emma for a few seconds to admire her. His mind suddenly backtracked to the night of her eighteenth birthday. Whatever it was he felt that night, he was probably never going to deny it but he was sure that he wasn’t going to admit it. Not unless he was completely sure of himself.

And sitting here now, with Emma on his shoulders and his arm around her, he had no thoughts except to enjoy this moment with her. As all these thoughts went through his mind, he found himself leaning down and gently kissing her on the head. He then slowly removed his arm from around her and managed to carry her to his bed where he made sure not to wake her and that she was comfortable.

He took one last look at her and brushed the hair off her face. “Sweet dreams, princess,” he said quietly then left the room to crash on the couch until he himself was fast asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Miss Emma Woodhouse is living my dream in this chapter 😌 And yes, George Knightley most definitely watches The Crown. And probably House of Cards too.
> 
> Thank you for the kudos and comments you've been leaving lately! They really mean a lot <3 I'm so excited to keep writing this and hopefully I'm still keeping to the plot of Love, Rosie!
> 
> Btw it's my birthday today so kudos and comments would be an amazing bday gift 🙈🙈❤️ Also!! I commissioned someone to bring the airport scene from Chapter 6 to life (also as a birthday gift to myself SKJSHSJF) and it turned out so cute AAAAAA check it out on my [twitter](https://twitter.com/leiascaptain/status/1305656528725180416?s=20)!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lack of updates! I recently started a new job that works the night shift, so I’m usually so exhausted on weekdays. But I’ve missed writing this and I hope you guys are liking the story so far because your comments and kudos really really make my day ❤️✨

It’s normal human nature to want a really great night to never end or wish for it to happen again. But by means of the universe, things do not sadly last forever nor do they happen exactly as it was. It’s a good kind of “hangover” that brings only happy recollections of the night before. These were Emma’s instant thoughts the moment she awoke the next morning. All these thoughts and emotions flashed in her mind before she realized she woke up in someone else’s bed. It took her a couple of seconds to refresh her memory and remind herself that she wasn’t in her room in Highbury, but in George’s smart and tidy flat in New York.

It was so annoyingly neat, his flat. The walls were plain white with warm studio-like lights and the furniture was either black, white or grey. There was a bookshelf, of course, and aside from books, there were also tiny artsy figures that Emma couldn’t figure out but intrigued her as an artist herself. The shelf was placed as a divider between the bed and the rest of the apartment. Meanwhile, the TV hung on the wall but it was just the homepage of his Netflix account where she could see a list of “Continue watching for George…” that contained The Crown, House of Cards, Peaky Blinders, and The Greatest Events of WWII in Color. Emma chuckled at the nerdism of it all. 

She turned around to face the enormous window that ran from top to bottom and stared out to see so many yellow taxis on the road and tiny people crossing the street. From afar she could see the iconic Empire State Building in the backdrop. There was a subtle sign of snow in the air. She sighed at the beauty of it all.

Then she smiled at the smell of pancakes and bacon. Her favorite.

As soon as she jumped out of bed, George looked up and grinned. “Ah, you’re awake, finally!”

“I see you’ve cooked for me,” Emma teased, playfully tiptoeing towards the table.

“Yeah, I mean, I may not be as good as Biddy, but living alone forces you to learn how to cook you know,” he said as he placed the bacon strips on her plate of pancakes. “Crispy, just the way you like ‘em!”

“Thank you, Chef George,” Emma said delightfully. “I’ll be sure to give feedback!”

George laughed. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah,” Emma said as she took a bite of the pancakes. “You slept on the couch.”

George felt himself blush a little. “Uhhh, yeah it’s cool. I tend to crash on the couch a lot when I’m too tired.” He avoided her eyes.

After an awkward silence, George said, “So, what do you wanna do today?”

“Hmmm… Maybe we could go see Central Park?”

“It’s pretty frozen but okay, sure, your highness,” he teased.

“You know, I can’t believe you live in this apartment alone,” Emma pointed out after scowling at him, looking at the walls.

“Well,” George said, taking a seat across her with two cups of coffee in hand. “NYU doesn’t really have a designated place for campus dorms. You basically just find one among the available ones scattered across this block.”

He took a sip from his cup. “And I don’t mind being alone. Always have been anyway.”

“Drama queen,” Emma rolled her eyes to which George raised his eyebrows in agreement.

After breakfast, the pair strolled around Central Park as Emma wished. Everything was pretty much frozen and snow was starting to fall. They took a walk over the stone bride by the now frozen Pond and gasped as she saw the ice rink nearby. George promised they’d do ice skating last and took her first on the Central Park Carousel for a couple of rounds where she was so in awe of its vintage vibe. Somehow it seemed more magical in the winter. 

Then they made their way through what was supposed to be Sheep Meadow where Emma playfully began a snowball fight with her companion. Eventually, they fell and lay on the snow for a bit to make snow angels.

“It’s a pity that Bethesda Fountain is frozen, I could’ve taken you there to make a wish,” George said as they lay in the snow.

“I’m in New York with my best friend, what more could I wish for?” she said, looking over at him. George looked at her and couldn’t help but take her hand. Emma looked up at him, surprised. Then, pulling himself together, he said, “Come on, I’ll show you something.”

They crossed Bow Bridge and Emma gasped. There was no other word for it – magical. It was the kind of moment you only saw in movies. The lake was completely frozen, and around it, the bare tree branches perfectly complemented the snow-covered towering buildings behind them. After taking photos on her camera, she then turned on her phone’s front camera and pulled George in for a selfie, which he utterly disliked.

“I wish I could take you on a gondola ride,” George said as they leaned on the bridge’s side. “You would have loved it.”

Emma looked over to him. “I love this enough already. I wouldn’t exchange it for the world.” Then she looked away and sighed, “It’s so beautiful here.”

The whole time, George was just looking at her. “Yeah, it is.”

After a bit of silence, Emma reminded him, “So are we going ice skating or not?”

George took Emma back to Wollman Rink near The Pond and rented out a pair of skates for them. Emma had never skated in her life before although George had a bit of experience during his little travels when his parents were still alive.

“I’ll hold you,” George assured her when she was afraid to step on the ice.

“I’m going to fall!”

“No, you’re not, Em,” George repeated. “I’ll be here the whole time, I promise.”

Emma sighed and clung onto George as they began to skate. Luckily, there weren’t much people so the rink wasn’t pretty crowded. They were slowly making their way to the middle of the rink when snow started falling. Emma looked up and started giggling at the marvelous sight of snow falling on her eyelashes. Her nose was starting to get a little red from the cold. George looked down at her and chuckled.

“You’re getting cold, aren’t you?” he teased.

“A little,” she sniffed, rubbing her nose with the back of her mitted hand.

George put his arm around her. “Okay, just one round then?”

“Let’s go!”

After skating, they grabbed a quick bite before deciding to head back to the apartment and call it a day.

When they arrived, George decided to let Emma take control of his Netflix account and went to take a warm shower.

“What are you going to watch?” he asked as he placed his things on the coffee table.

“Hmmm, I don’t know yet,” Emma replied. “Maybe Friends!”

George rolled his eyes and smirked. “Be right back.”

Emma ignored him and pressed play on “The One Where Rachel Finds Out”, one of her favorite episodes. As she sat wrapped in her coat and hugging one of the pillows, she was going to reach for her phone when suddenly George’s phone lit up next to hers.

Whether it was out of curiosity or she just happened to notice the phone light up, Emma wished she hadn’t looked because the moment she did, her heart somewhat sank.

It was a message from Jane Fairfax.

**_Yup, I should be there this weekend! Looking forward to see you again. :-)_ **

Emma paused the show and fell back on the couch. A few minutes later, George came out wearing a warm NYU hoodie and a towel in his hand. He was drying off his scruffy messy ash hair when he saw Emma staring blankly on the couch.

“What happened to you? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

It took her a few more seconds before the words came out of her mouth.

“You’ve been seeing Jane Fairfax?”

George stopped. “What?”

“Answer me, George. You’ve been seeing her?”

“No, what-“

“Well, apparently you _will_ be seeing her,” she said as she slid his phone down the coffee table.

George got his phone and put his hand on his face. “Shit. Emma…”

Emma abruptly stood up from the couch and said nothing.

George shook his head. “It’s not like that, Em.”

“Yeah, then what is it? Explain it to me, then.”

“I…” he faltered. “Yes, we’ve been texting but it’s only before you got here. She’s an exchange student at New Jersey and I think for Christmas she and her family are spending the holidays here in Manhattan. She knew I lived here so she dropped me a line, it’s not a big deal-“

“You _knew_ she was studying in New Jersey?”

“Well, yeah-“

Emma nodded in complete annoyance. There were tears in her eyes and she could feel the green monster of envy slowly creep out.

“Em, what’s the big deal? It’s still in the weekend-“

“So that’s why you wanted me to come so badly.”

“What?!”

“You wanted me to come so badly because you were lonely here in New York and you couldn’t _wait_ to meet with Jane so for the meantime, I’ll be keeping you company! Isn’t that right?” she snapped.

“What the fuck are you talking about, Em? I wanted you to come because I wanted to see you-“

“Sounds like bullshit to me, George!” she yelled as she turned to face the window.

“What the hell, I just took you on a really nice time and this is how you react?” his voice was getting louder. “You think I did all of that as an act?! Don’t be ridiculous, Em.”

Emma didn’t respond. She was still looking out the window, tears rolling down her face.

“Em, please…” George said as he walked towards her. “Can we not fight this time? I’ve missed you and this is not how I wanted to spend time with you.”

Emma turned and walked away from him. “You’ve missed me? Or you just needed someone from your old life to remind you of how much your life has changed? Because admit it, George, you’re fucking lonely here! I can see it, don’t deny it.”

George gritted his teeth. “Emma. I’m not lonely. I have friends here, thank you very much,” he said firmly. “And between you and me, who’s actually the lonely one, huh? No one wants to hang out with a spoiled brat like you!” he said angrily.

As soon as he said those words, Emma could no longer control it and burst into tears. George immediately realized what just happened and his face softened a little.

“Emma… I’m sorry…”

Emma said nothing more and grabbed all her things and threw them into her suitcase. Her face was red from the cold and from crying. George went up to her and tried to put his hand on her shoulder but she pushed it away.

“Where are you going?” he asked alarmingly.

“Home,” she said firmly. “And I mean in England, back home in Highbury.” She locked her suitcase shut. “Far away from you,” she added.

George, pissed with himself and the situation, blurted out, “Fine! Go home and act like a kid!”

Emma stopped at the door and turned around one last time. “I will! Because guess what, that’s all I am to you, George! You always see my flaws and you always think I need to grow up! I thought by coming here, that would be ‘mature’ enough for you!”

Before George could cut in, she continued, “But no, I guess you prefer the likes of Jane Fairfax who’s so perfect and grown up! She’s an exchange student, that’s sooo mature of her!” she mocked. “Well, I hope you enjoy your weekend with her and your life and whatever!”

As George opened his mouth to make a reply, she was out the door and slammed it shut.

Frustrated, he punched the wall and yelled. He immediately ran to get a block of ice from the freezer and sat down on the couch, completely upset. He regretted it, not just the punching on the wall, but the entire thing. All of it. They were having the perfect time together, and why did this have to happen?

He checked his phone and went through the notifications, angrily ignoring the message from Jane. There was one Instagram notification: _@emmawoodhouse tagged you in a photo._

He clicked on it and the app opened to show their selfie earlier at Bow Bridge with the caption, _“The most magical place with the best person ❤️”_ That was only a mere hours ago, who would have thought they would end the day like this? Tears started rolling down his face. Half of his heart really wished she hadn’t gotten on a plane back to England, but half of him knew Emma. She always got her way, and if it meant getting on the next flight, she’s going to get it. He fell back on his couch, his tears blurring his vision until he was unaware that he blacked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nooo not heartbreaking angst :( Sorry I had to write that lol but if you’re keeping up, this is where Rosie and Alex have that big fight in Boston, except of course I had to match it with Emma and Knightley’s characters!
> 
> [This](https://www.pinterest.es/pin/476185360604832407/) and [this](https://nextluxury.com/wp-content/uploads/mens-living-room-bed-studio-apartment-ideas.jpg) were my inspirations for Knightley’s apartment!
> 
> I was so annoyed because when I was writing, I forgot that this took place in winter lmaooo I had like a whole gondola thing planned out but anyway, I switched it up with the movie Serendpity (2001) in mind! I highly recommend that film, it’s perfect for hopeless romantics (like me) 😉 Tip: look up “January Rain” by David Gray and listen to it while reading the Central Park scene. You’re welcome :-)


	10. Chapter 10

Emma spent the next few days secluded in her room, refusing to see anyone. She only came out for meal times but other than that, her family rarely saw her out of her room. It was an odd time to feel glum as Christmas was fast approaching but this didn’t matter to her. Mr. Woodhouse was starting to feel increasingly concerned for his daughter and had told Isabella repeatedly that the trip was a bad idea. Isabella, on the other hand, was not much of the comforting type. She and Emma aren’t exactly the kind of sisters who would confide in each other’s secret crushes and the like. They loved and looked out for each other, yes, but at this point, she didn’t exactly know how to approach her little sister, given that she left the family early in her life. The age gap doesn’t help as well.

It didn’t help that John Knightley was also in the house. Same goes for him and George; they weren’t the close confidante types. In fact, it was Emma and George who became each other’s confidantes growing up, since their older siblings were too detached from them. So there comes the problem: who would step in once Emma and George fought? The answer, usually no one, because they would end up sorting it themselves.

But this time felt different for Emma. There was something more between them now that they’ve grown up and grown apart physically. She couldn’t explain what it was that upset her. What was it about Jane’s relationship with George that bothered her so much? She was the one who introduced the two, after all. She and her stupid meddling self.

Perhaps she just didn’t like the idea of someone else sharing his attention and that one day he, her best friend in the entire world, could possibly be taken away from her. But why?

The day before Christmas Eve, Harriet decided to drop by the Woodhouses’ home. Emma had not been responding to any of her calls or texts and Harriet was getting really worried for her friend. She also took the opportunity to bring her Christmas gift for Emma and for her family too. She also had Emma’s favorite café latte from the coffee shop.

“It’s so sweet of you to come, Harriet,” Isabella said quietly as she greeted Harriet at the door. “But she hasn’t been talking to any of us. It’s been days now and we don’t really know what happened.”

Harriet looked concerned more than ever. “I was surprised myself when I found out she shortened her trip that quickly.”

“I know they had an argument,” Isabella said as she closed the door. “I just can’t imagine what it would be about if she’s that upset. I’ve never seen Emma like this.”

“Do you mind if I go up and see her?”

“Of course, dear.”

Before heading up, Harriet handed over her present, a bottle of red wine with a lovely gold ribbon wrapped on its neck. “This is for the family. From Rob and me,” she smiled.

“Thank you, Harriet, you shouldn’t have,” Isabella said dearly and took the bottle. “I’ll put it under the tree.”

Harriet then climbed up to Emma’s room, which was the first door on the right. She gave a gentle knock and as expected, didn’t receive any reply. She then said softly, “Em? It’s me, Harriet.”

Still no reply. Harriet added, “I know you’re not in the mood to see anyone in the family but maybe you’d want to see me? I’ve got your café latte, it might boost your spirits a bit…”

She waited for a few more seconds until the knob of the door finally turned. Emma looked like she hadn’t slept much and her eyes were puffy from excessive crying. Her face seemed to not have changed its reddish color for several days either. She was in her pajamas and was wearing socks that had Mickey Mouse prints on them.

“Hi,” she sniffed.

Harriet went on ahead and gave her a massive hug. Suddenly, Emma burst into tears again. Harriet motioned for her to go inside and handed her the coffee.

As they sat on the bed, Harriet handed Emma the box of tissues by her bedside. The room was a mess and Emma seemed as she didn’t have a care in the world. By her window stood an easel with an unfinished painting, with oil paints scattered all over the floor. She looked back at her friend who was completely spaced out, fiddling with the tissue paper in her hand.

She sighed and finally said, “Do you want to talk about it?”

It took Emma a while before she could find the words. “I... I don’t know, Harriet. I don’t know why I’m so upset.”

“You can tell me what happened.”

“Well,” Emma sniffed. “It was uh, it was going great… We were having a nice time and all-”

“Yeah, I saw your Instagram post. That’s why I was so surprised to know you’ve returned home so quickly.”

“Yeah well, he only needed me there as a pre-game to his actual holiday plans.”

Harriet looked confused. “What do you mean?”

Emma couldn’t look at Harriet for a while. “He was going to see Jane Fairfax over the weekend. They were going to spend the holidays together, I think.”

Harriet’s mouth fell. “Jane Fairfax?! Isn’t she in New Jersey?”

“Yeah but apparently he knew that and they’ve been texting for months now,” Emma said glumly. “I don’t know if there’s something going on between them, but whatever.”

“Oh Em, I’m so sorry…” Harriet said as she put her arm around Emma’s shoulder.

Emma continued crying. “The thing is, Harriet… I don’t know why I’m so upset, you know?”

“I guess it’s just natural to feel that way, Em, because it’s always been the two of you and you’re basically inseparable from what I heard.”

Emma sniffed and suddenly laughed. “I guess I owe you 10 pounds after all.”

Harriet laughed. “Don’t worry about it! And don’t say that he isn’t in love with you because I still don’t buy it.”

Emma looked at the rolled tissue in her hand then at her friend. She gave a small smile before saying, “No… But I think I’m the one in love with him.”

Harriet’s face couldn’t be any more surprised. “Oh my God!! Emma!” She sat up straight. “You are, aren’t you!”

Emma started laughing and crying at the same time. “God! I feel so stupid! All this time… It’s the only reason why I’m so jealous of Jane. I can’t stand seeing him with someone else, especially her!” She fell back on her bed groaning.

Harried laughed. “Wait, wait, so does he know?”

“Definitely not,” Emma said, lying flat facing the ceiling. Harriet then joined her. “And even if he knew, would that matter? He’s clearly into Jane. He would never notice someone like me, a fucking spoiled brat who can’t seem to grow up.”

Harriet looked over to Emma, confused. “Oh, those were his last words to me before I left,” Emma explained. “Because he always saw me that way, and he’s always going to scold me for my faults instead of seeing my efforts. But of course, he sees Jane as a mature and responsible and well-mannered lady, so who am I to compete with that?”

“You’re his best friend, Em,” Harriet said simply. “You and Jane are on two different spectrum levels, there’s no comparison. He may like Jane but I know,” she emphasized. “I know he loves you.”

Emma laughed sardonically. “Yeah, maybe. As an annoying little sister figure of some sort, probably.”

The two friends lay together for a while, with Emma further contemplating her newly realized feelings and how it’s come to be. After reminding Emma that her may have coffee gone cold, Harriet inquired when did she realize that she was in love with George.

“I’m not sure…” Emma said, staring blankly at the ceiling. “I think, I’ve always been, but it just didn’t come to the surface until that day I urged him to ask Jane to prom. Does that make sense?”

“I guess, yeah,” Harriet replied then turned to Emma with a comforting look. 

Emma sighed. She knew that she couldn’t tell anyone else this, and Harriet was the best person to have kept this secret. The two spent the rest of the day together and it somehow lifted Emma’s spirits enough for Christmas itself.

She hadn’t spoken to George over Christmas, though he had called John on Facetime to greet the family. It was a brief call and Emma barely showed herself on the video before things became more awkward. 

The days flew by and before Emma knew it, it was New Year’s Eve. She lay in bed that morning thinking of the past year and how the coming one would be any different. This was the year she would be graduating from high school, and she hadn’t given university much thought. She actually wanted to continue pursuing art but wasn’t sure if she was up to take an art course in college just yet.

As these thoughts swam through her mind, her phone suddenly lit up. She looked over to see that it was a text message from Anne. She and Randall were in town to celebrate the New Year and to Emma’s surprise, Frank was going to be in town too. Emma laughed at the immediate thought of wherever Randall was, so was Frank. Maybe it was time to move on and try it out with Frank. They did have something anyway. At least, that’s what Emma thought.

*

That night, after a number of convincing and promises with her father, Emma was fetched by Rob and Harriet and they met up with the rest of the group at Haberdashery Club where there was going to be a countdown and after party. Emma was so glad to see her old friends again and at the same time she was happy to bring along her new ones too. It was strange at first, to not have George among their group, but Emma shrugged it off and decided to enjoy the rest of the night.

After greeting everyone, Emma went over to Frank who gave her a big smirk followed by a massive hug.

“Emma! How’ve you been?” he said after pulling away. “Listen, I’m so sorry for not being around for months, my aunt, you know, it’s… ugh.”

Emma smiled up at him. “Don’t worry about it, it’s all good.”

“Hey I heard you went to New York with Knightley! How did that go? Are you guys dating now?!”

Emma looked taken aback with what he said. “Uh, no!” then with poise she added, “I mean, no, I uh, I just went to visit. That’s all.”

“Yeah I bet that was fun, huh,” he teased.

“Nothing happened, Frank,” she replied flatly as she went to get a bottle of beer.

Frank raised both his hands. “No, no, I didn’t mean anything! Sorry.”

She took a sip from the bottle. “Yeah, well, let’s talk about something else,” she turned to him and gulped. “I’ve um, I’ve missed you.”

Frank looked surprised but at the same time somehow appeared cocky at the thought that he was missed by a girl he liked in high school.

“Have you?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, it’s nice to be missed,” Frank said coolly. Then he took Emma’s hand. “But I did miss you too.”

Emma felt herself blushing. The pair spent the rest of the evening catching up with one another and it seemed, for a while, Emma subconsciously had put aside her confused feelings for George, who was a thousand miles away, for Frank, who was here with her at that very moment.

Harriet seemed to notice the two of them in a corner as midnight neared and things were starting to look a little too intimate for her liking. Annoyed, she went up to them and pulled Emma away as the countdown was about to begin.

“Seriously, Frank Churchill?” she questioned Emma, completely dumbfounded. “Didn’t he ghost you for like, half a year?”

Emma shrugged sheepishly. “But he’s a nice guy… I think we’ve got something going on.”

Harriet raised her eyebrows. “Really?”

Emma didn’t reply instead gave Harriet a reassuring arm around the back. She understood her friend’s concern but at the same time she just wanted to be happy, whether or not it was real happiness, heck, even love. As always, Emma just loved having the attention on her, let alone from someone with the social reputation that Frank had.

As the DJ started hitting up the tunes and began counting at 30 seconds, Frank reappeared beside Emma with two glasses of champagne. Robert was also by Harriet’s side with the same. When the countdown reached 10 seconds, Frank got hold of Emma’s hand, much to her surprise. 

“5… 4… 3… 2… 1… HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!”

At the strike of midnight, as Frank turned to Emma and greet her, she reached up to him and suddenly kissed him. Whether it was out of impulse or simply confused feelings, Emma herself got caught off guard by her own action. But surprisingly, Frank didn’t mind and even pulled her closer. Everyone around them went wild and crazy, forcing them to pull apart while laughing. Frank forgot about the champagne glass in his hand and motioned to clink it with Emma’s.

“Cheers!” he said as he took a sip, not taking his eyes off Emma.

Emma, on the other hand, was blushing. “Cheers,” she said softly, taking a sip as well. She turned to hug Harriet, who also had just shared a smooch with Rob.

“Happy New Year, Em!” Harriet yelled through the noise. Then she leaned to further yell in Emma’s ear, “And I saw that!”

Emma just gushed and suddenly felt Frank’s hands around her waist pulling her back to him. “So,” he said loudly. “Is that a yes?”

“Sorry??” Emma replied, unable to hear properly through their loud surroundings.

“Does that make you my girlfriend then?” Frank repeated loudly.

Emma’s mouth fell as she felt her face turn even more red. “I…”

Frank smirked at her and motioned her to dance with him. “I’ll take that as a yes then!”

The night somehow faded away and Emma didn’t exactly know or how it all happened. But there it was. She had shared an impulsive New Year’s kiss with Frank Churchill and before she knew it, they began the new year as a couple. Randall and Anne were ecstatic at the news, saying that they’ve been hoping to match them for so long. Harriet, on the other hand, though she was happy for her best friend, she knew deep down that Emma wasn’t completely happy as she knew her heart truly belonged to someone else.

Nevertheless, the year flew by and Emma had enjoyed dating Frank. They often went out to movie dates and Frank would take her to really fancy dinners. They spent a lot of time together and Emma seemed to be enjoying the attention that she got from being Frank Churchill’s girlfriend. Together, they tended to be excessively vain and were envied as an “it couple”.

Before Emma knew it, graduation dawned upon her and she was looking forward to being free after high school. She had given her plans much thought and now that she was in a relationship, she had to consider that too.

The morning of her graduation, an excited Emma awoke earlier than usual. She stretched in her bed and reached for her phone to check her notifications. She scrolled through a usual “good morning babe” text from Frank, a photo attachment sent by Harriet that contained an adorable kitten, a calendar reminder that read, _Graduation Day!!!!_ , then to her surprise, an Instagram notification that read, _@georgeknightley posted a new photo after a while._

Emma furrowed her brows and clicked on the notification. It opened to a photo of the view of his apartment’s window, the one that Emma loved when she was there. She smiled at the fond recollection for a bit then read the caption, _“waiting”._ A most curious caption, Emma thought to herself but decided to not read into it any further. She did like the photo though, then remembered to quickly replied to Frank.

She got up to pick out her dress, a bright yellow one with puffy sleeves because she wanted something to match her mood. She quickly got dressed and let her hair down as she always loved to. Then she thought of taking a mirror selfie since she loved her outfit a lot and posted it with the caption, _“Ready for graduation day! 💛”_

The ceremonies were at 11am, and it was now 9:30am, so she hurriedly went down to have breakfast with her father, who was also already dressed. She greeted him with a kiss on the head and as she sat down asked, “What time is Isabella coming?”

“She said she’ll meet us at the ceremony dear,” Mr. Woodhouse replied, reading the morning paper.

“Okay, papa,” Emma said as she took a sip of her coffee. “Uhm, Frank’s gonna be there too, okay?”

Mr. Woodhouse looked up from his paper. “Oh, is he?”

Emma bit her lip awkwardly and nodded. Mr. Woodhouse sighed. “You know, there’s something off about that boy.”

“Papa,” Emma sighed. “Frank is a nice guy. He’s just got a strong persona, that’s all. But I promise you he’s great.”

“Well, whatever makes you happy, dear,” Mr. Woodhouse smiled and continued to read his paper.

As Emma started eating, her phone lit up with a notification: _@georgeknightley liked your photo_. She raised her eyebrows and swiped her screen to the right. Turns out it was her mirror selfie earlier that George liked and for some reason, Emma felt herself smile. She clicked on his profile and saw that he posted on his Instagram stories. The first one was a Boomerang video of his coffee with smoke coming out of it and the next one was a black and white photo of his copy of Leo Tolstoy’s epic _War and Peace_ with the text _“Saturdays at home”_. Emma simply sent a reaction with the 100 emoji and locked her phone.

She did miss him, but she felt like they weren’t ready just yet to make amends. Their last fight really hurt Emma so much considering that it was all because of jealousy as she realized her feelings for him. But those feelings are gone now, Emma told herself. She had Frank now, and that’s all that mattered.

Their graduation ceremonies began and Emma had just met up with Harriet to take a bunch of selfies before taking their seats. The students sat alphabetically by last name so Emma was somewhere near the last. Everything was going as Emma desired until she caught a glimpse of a dark brown-haired girl taking her seat up in the front row. Jane Fairfax was going to be graduating salutatorian, much to Emma’s annoyance, and apparently was back in town. But since when? Her exchange program had probably already ended, obviously. But what about her and George, where does that lie now that she’s back? Between George’s sudden activity on social media and Jane suddenly reappearing in town, Emma couldn’t quite put her finger around it. The ceremony carried on as Emma was lost in thought.

At the end of the program, Emma met up with her father, sister, brother-in-law, and awkwardly, her boyfriend amongst the crowds. She gave her father a tight embrace who was looking prouder than ever of his youngest. Isabella also gave Emma a hug while John handed her their graduation present and some flowers. Frank stood nearby enough to maintain a distance as he felt somewhat shy to be around the family just yet but as Emma approached him, he smiled and gave Emma a kiss on the cheek.

“I’m so proud of you, babe,” he whispered. “Let’s celebrate tonight.”

“Of course,” Emma grinned.

Just then, Harriet found her way through the crowds beside Emma. The two girls shared an embrace and Harriet quickly pulled away for some news.

“Em, Em,” she said breathlessly. “You’ll never guess what I overheard!”

“What is it, Harriet?”

“Jane!”

“Uhhh, what about her?”

“So I was with Rob and his family right,” Harriet began. “Then she and her family were close by too. And apparently her aunt has a really loud voice and is quite the talker so pretty much everyone within five feet heard her. Anyway, Jane is only home for graduation! She’s moving back to New Jersey for good!”

Emma’s eyes grew. It wasn’t the kind of news she’d expect to hear. “For good?”

“Yeah, I heard she’s leaving by next week I think. She just came back for the ceremony but she’s going to live there apparently.” Harriet stopped and looked at Emma with a searching and concerned look. “Oh Em, I’m sorry… I just thought you’d want to know.”

Pulling herself together, Emma said coolly, “Don’t worry about it. I mean, I guess she’s happy with her life then. Good for her!” Harriet swore there was a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Emma then turned to Frank who was conversing with some of his former professors. She tugged at his arm and said, “Can we please get out of here?”

“Sure babe,” he replied as he excused himself from his previous conversation. “Your family is waiting by the car. You alright?”

“Yeah,” Emma said quietly. Frank then put his arm around her and kissed her on the head. “Alright then,” he said. “Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harriet is soooo #TeamKnightley, can’t you tell?
> 
> And is anyone else feeling George Knightley's reading list? My man's got some taste!!
> 
> [Emma’s dress 💛](https://www.celebsfirst.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/anya-taylor-joy-promotes-her-new-movie-emma-on-lorraine-tv-show-in-london-uk-120220_2.jpg) (yellow is really Anya’s color, I love it so much)
> 
> Also hellooo I’ve decided to wrap this fic in 15 chapters as I spent some time outlining the last chapters, beginning with this one :D So I hoped you like them! Would really appreciate comments and kudos as I’ve been having a tough week both at home and at work :( anyway, hope yall have a great week (it's almost the weekend!!)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS omg I am SO sorry for not updating this in like, over a month???? I really got so busy with work, and since I work the night shift, it hasn't been easy for me and I usually spend most of my time catching up on sleep.
> 
> I hope this chapter makes up for it!! I decided to keep it to wrap it up in 15 chapters because it fits well that way. You'll see! ;)
> 
> Thank you so much for the love and comments in the previous chapters, it really means a lot ❤️❤️❤️

There was a sudden rumble in New York City and has awoken George Knightley from his deep sleep – or so he thought. He sat up right at the sound of the thunder then felt his heart skip a beat when he saw a sharp line of lightning cutting through the sky above the Empire State Building. And there was thunder again.

George shook his head and decided he couldn’t go back to sleep right away so he got up to get himself a drink. After opening his refrigerator, he checked the time on his wall clock – 5:30am. He sighed and decided to make hot chocolate with marshmallows instead. As he was stirring his hot choco, he sat at the edge of his bed and reached for his phone as he tried to take photos of the thunderstorm.

Instead of opening his camera app, he accidentally opened Instagram instead, and he wish he hadn’t. He was greeted by the latest post 6 hours ago – _“My happiness.”_ , it read. George didn’t understand why he felt his chest tighten when he saw the photo of Emma and Frank sharing a kiss at what looked like a post-graduation party. He stared at his phone for a while then out his window in the pouring rain and wondered as he placed his mug on the floor.

Does this explain why he’s been jealous of Frank Churchill all this time? Because he had eyes for Emma? _His Emma._

_Shit._

Has he fallen in love with her? Or has he been in love with her all along?

George fell back on his bed and groaned loudly then he placed his hands on his face. “Snap out of it, you idiot,” he told himself. “How can you be in love with Emma, she’s your best friend!”

Then he suddenly got an idea and reached for his phone again. He swiped the Instagram app out of his sight and proceeded to dial his brother. He checked the time – 5:45am. That means it was almost 10am in London, and John was most likely on his way to work.

True enough, his older brother picked up after three rings. “Hey man!”

“John, hi,” George said, sitting up. “Did I-did I disturb you?”

“No, I’m still on the way to the shop,” John replied. He worked as a sales supervisor at a boutique store just in the crossings between Highbury and London so naturally he had work on Sundays. Saturdays were usually his days off. “What’s up, man? Isn’t it like, 5am there?”

“Almost 6.”

“Right.”

“Listen, John, I uh…” George thought for a moment on how he was going to put his thoughts into words without his brother getting the wrong impression. “I just wanted to ask you something.” He got up and started pacing around. 

“Fire away, bud.”

George swallowed. “Are Emma and Frank really a thing?”

“Uh… Well, yeah, apparently,” John replied, surprised at the random question. “She brought him to graduation.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, why do you sound so shocked though? They’ve been dating for quite some time I heard.”

“No I’m not shocked,” George replied quickly. “I just, uh… He’s not really her type.”

“No one ever knows her type!” John laughed. “We all thought she wasn’t ever gonna date, remember? And here she is, all grown up!”

George chuckled dryly. “Yeah, I guess…”

Before George realized the glum tone of his voice, his brother’s voice came through the phone, “Why’d you ask?”

Caught off guard, George replied quickly, “Nothing. Yeah, I just couldn’t believe that Emma is actually dating someone because, you know, she doesn’t like the idea of it…”

John laughed. “Exactly! But I guess she outgrew it. Good for her anyway, that Frank fellow seems like a decent guy.” George scoffed but thankfully his brother didn’t hear it. John then added, “Well, I gotta go now. About to come around the shop. I’ll talk to you later?”

George sighed. “Yeah, sure. Thanks, John.”

After hanging up, he lay down on his bed for another ten minutes, blankly staring at the ceiling before deciding to reach for his phone again and open Instagram. After refreshing, Emma’s post had disappeared and the first post now was that of a familiar scene – a photo of the streets of New York. He partially sat up to make sure he was reading it correctly: Jane Fairfax had posted the photo just 2 hours ago which meant she was in town.

For a while he hesitated, but eventually, his loneliness got the better of him and he clicked on the direct messages to pop in the question: **_Hey, saw your post! Are you in the city?_**

He waited a few moments, feeling both nervous and stupid at his impulsive action. He closed the app and locked his phone then fell back again on the bed, groaning. Before he could finish muttering to himself what an idiot he was, his phone lit up with a notification from Instagram saying he had received a reply from Jane.

George grabbed is phone and discovered he was right: she was in town.

Jane’s initial reply read, **_Hi, George! Omg yes I just arrived last night!!_**

Then, to his surprise, he saw she was typing.

**_We should meet up!_ **

Without thinking it through, he found himself replying in a split second.

**_Sure! How does lunch sound?_ **

After a few seconds, she replied.

**_What’s your number? I’ll call you. I have to get a few errands done first but lunch sounds great! ❤_ **

George bit his lip. He proceeded to type in his number and waited. Whether or not this was all impulsive, he honestly didn’t care anymore. Maybe Emma was right – he was starting to feel the weight of loneliness creep in and having a familiar face might just cheer things up for him. And speaking of Emma, seeing that she had moved on and seemed contented with her life made him further realize how lonely he was indeed.

*

At a quarter past twelve, George chose to sit by the windows over at Olio e Piú, which a somewhat fancy Italian just a couple of blocks from his apartment. It was one of his favorite restaurants around the area because it’s less crowded than the other pubs and bars nearer to the university. Few moments later, as he was fiddling with his phone, he finally saw Jane enter the restaurant.

He didn’t know why he was so nervous; Jane was a friend after all. And not just a friend, they shared moments back in high school, and he was quite aware of her feelings for him. In return, he cared for her too. They became close friends during the course of their time in America, and it seemed like they filled up each other’s homesickness somehow. He wasn’t sure if he was ready to put aside his confused feelings for Emma, but he was pretty sure he wanted to spend time with someone he was already close and familiar with. Wherever that goes, well, we’ll see.

“Hey there,” Jane smiled as she approached his table. “Waiting for anyone in particular?” she teased.

George chuckled lightly. “Hi, Jane, how are you?” he said as they both leaned in for a hug.

“I’m good,” Jane replied as they both took their seats across each other. She placed her purse on the side of the table along with an envelope of papers. “A little jetlagged, but all good! What about you?”

“I’m good too,” George replied sheepishly. “How are you doing? Wait, sorry I asked that already.” He scratched his head as Jane giggled. “So uh, where are you staying? Are you in town for just the day or are you heading back to New Jersey?”

As Jane reached for the menu, George added, “Oh, I’ve already ordered, please order whatever you like. It’s on me,” he smiled.

Jane blushed and looked down on the menu. She quickly called the waiter and ordered the spaghetti carbonara. She handed the menu to him and then turned back to George. “Oh, I’m staying at this lovely little hotel over at 3rd Ave… I forget the name now.”

“Is it The Standard?” George inquired.

“Ah, yes, that one! Charming hotel, isn’t it?”

George smiled. “That’s just at the back of NYU.”

“Well…” Jane blushed. “I actually checked into that hotel not because it’s charming but because it’s near the university,” she admitted. “That’s the very reason I’m in town. I’m applying for a scholarship to NYU!”

George looked stunned for a bit. “Wow, a scholarship? It’s bloody hard to get one of those over here.”

Jane flushed. “Yeah, well… The exchange program helped a lot as well. And my track record as this year’s salutatorian-”

“Oh, fellow salutatorian here!” George beamed proudly.

“Yeah,” Jane chuckled. “I remember. I played at your graduation, remember?”

George blinked. “Oh, yeah! Yeah, you did. I remember, you were great!”

Their small talk lasted for another hour or so before Jane had to head to the university’s admissions office to submit her documents. George, being the gentleman and kind person that he was, offered to accompany her and show her around campus at the same time.

At the admissions office, George politely waited outside. Sitting on the bench, he fiddled with his phone and thought about these bloody feelings of his and what to do next. Just then, one of his college buds, Luke, approached him coolly. He was one of the guys who threw George in the pool during the winter college party he attended with Emma.

“Georgey!” he called.

“Hey, Luke.”

“What’s up, dude? Hey you know what, I can’t help but notice your little tour earlier,” he snickered as he put his arm around George.

George blinked but didn’t reply. Luke continued, “Is she your girl or-”

“Huh? No, man, what-”

“Oh that’s great, that’s great,” Luke said as he pulled away to stroke back his hair. “I was wondering if you could introduce me to her, man. She’s fiiiine.”

“What the hell, Luke?”

“No I mean, like, she’s gorgeous, dude, don’t you see that?”

“Well, she is but-”

“Hold on, hold on,” Luke paused. “What happened to that blonde chick you were dating last winter?”

George groaned and somehow his heart was pierced a little. “We weren’t dating, Luke. We’re just friends.”

“Right, that’s what you say about all your girl friends,” he sneered.

“Look man, I’m not really in the mood to talk about-”

Then suddenly, Jane stepped out of the office. “George?”

Luke turned to her. “Hey there,” he smiled. “I’m Luke.”

Jane looked at George, who quickly replied, “Jane, this is Luke. Luke, Jane.”

“Jane, huh?” Luke said coolly. “What a pretty name fit for a pretty face.”

At this point, George was beyond annoyed. Before Jane could let out a word, he said, “Well, it was nice seeing you today, man. I’ll see you in class?”

“Sure,” Luke replied without taking his eyes off Jane, who was clearly feeling awkward and uncomfortable. He gave one last sneering look at George before turning around slowly and left. George sighed heavily.

“I’m really sorry about that.”

“Are… all guys at this school like that?” Jane stammered. “That was really uncomfortable.”

“No,” George muttered. “Luke is just one of those idiots, you know. Don’t mind him. As long as I’m around, he won’t have anything on you.”

Jane smiled at this remark and George realized what he just said and blushed slightly.

“So,” he said, trying to divert the subject. “Do you wanna get out of here? I’ve got no classes today.”

“Well, honestly, I could really use a good rest,” Jane admitted. “I think it’s best if I call it a day. Besides, it’s getting late, and my aunt will be calling to check on me at the hotel,” she groaned.

“Ah, right, your aunt,” George chuckled. “Alright, shall I walk you then?”

“Sure!”

*

As the pair reached outside the lobby of The Standard, George slowed down as Jane turned around.

“Well,” Jane sighed. “This is me.”

George smiled at her. “Hey look, I’m really sorry again about earlier…”

“Nah, don’t worry about it!” Jane said rather positively. “I’m sure he means well.”

George shrugged at the unlikeliness. “So what’s next for you? What are you gonna do now while waiting?”

“Well,” Jane thought. “I just realized that I need myself an apartment.”

“Oh, then you should check mine out!” George said. “Well, not mine exactly but you know,” he scratched his head. “My apartment building.”

Jane let out a small and flattered laugh.

“It’s just on the other side of Washington Square Park, and it’s got good maintenance, and it’s got amazing views of the city. Mine particularly has the view of the Empire State,” he added sheepishly.

This seemed to have caught Jane’s attention. “Really now? Well, I should check that out then.”

“Tomorrow?” George blurted out. “I mean, you could come by tomorrow, I’ll show you around and stuff. It’s a Saturday, and I’ve got no Saturday classes this term, so lucky you.”

“Is that so?” Jane teased. “Well, I should be glad to have a New York native to tour me around the best apartment in the city!”

The both of them laughed. When the laughter died down, George tried to clumsily find the words of his next sentence. “I- I was wondering, maybe, you know, after we check out the apartment, we could, you know, have dinner or something.”

Jane blushed. “Really? Like, somewhere as fancy as lunch today?”

“I don’t know, could be fancier than that,” George shrugged and looked at his shoes then around the buildings. “There’s a lot of those ‘round here.”

At this point, Jane could see the effort of socialization George was exerting and smiled warmly. “I’d love that, George.”

George looked up at her, surprised. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Jane nodded. “So it’s a date then?”

“Um…”

Suddenly, Jane tiptoed and planted a kiss on his cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said softly and gave a little wave before she turned and entered the building.

Blinking stupidly, George turned around and walked away, rewinding the last ten minutes. “ _‘There’s a lot of those ‘round here’!_ ” he mimicked his own self. “Bloody idiot.”

*

Back in Highbury, Emma Woodhouse decided to take a leap year before starting college and get a job to pass the time. She thought it was a rather mature thing to do, for someone like her, at least. She got a job as a bar waitress at Haberdashery’s restaurant and bar. Joining her was Harriet, who unlike Emma, needed the job to pay for her apartment while studying in university during the day.

That Sunday, Emma and Harriet had taken the morning shift. The place was quite dead in the daytime compared to the evenings. The restobar turns into a night club then and hence has more life. Harriet often took the evening shifts because of school, but Emma had the liberty to choose, only because she had the privilege of personally knowing the general manager, Benny, who was a good friend of her sister’s in college. 

That afternoon, the girls were just cleaning up after their shift and preparing for the next staff coming in at 7pm when the bar and club reopens. Harriet was behind the counter, wiping glasses, while Emma was sitting on the other side on a bar stool, spaced out.

“This place is so ghastly in the day,” she muttered.

“It’s not so very bad,” Harriet commented. “Though it’s true the place is more fun at night.”

“A lot more crowded too,” Emma said as she sipped from her glass of Coke. Harriet gave a soft laugh and continued her task.

“I celebrated my 18th birthday here, you know,” she continued.

“Hmm? And how was that for you?”

“It was fun,” Emma said. “But there’s just bits of it I don’t remember.”

“Why is that?”

“I got drunk.”

Harriet let out a louder laugh this time. Emma looked at her, playfully offended. “I’m sorry,” Harriet giggled. “That sounded funnier in my head.”

Emma sneered at her friend. “Oh shut up,” she said as she rolled her eyes. “Anyway, it really was a fun night. It just bothers me a bit that I don’t remember the gap between my last shot and my waking up in bed the next morning.”

“Was Frank there?”

“No. That was the time he was ghosting me.”

“Tsk,” Harriet muttered.

Emma looked at her again. “What _is_ your problem with Frank?”

“Nothing!” Harriet said. “I just want to be sure you’re happy.”

Emma smiled dearly at her friend and reached for her phone. “I am happy, Harriet,” she said. “Speaking of happy, how’s Rob doing?” she added, hoping to divert the subject.

“Well,” Harriet began. “He’s not exactly fond of university just yet. The basketball scholarship he’s on is quite tedious…” she continued as her voice seemed to fade in Emma’s ears. She was scrolling on her Instagram feed when she suddenly stopped and let out a little gasp. Harriet noticed and stopped to ask, “What is it Em?”

“George and Jane seem to be having a good time,” she said stiffly.

“What?!”

Emma handed her phone to Harriet and looked away, trying to control the tears in her eyes. Harriet gasped. “Em, we can’t assume they’re together just because of a photo though…”

“Harriet,” Emma swallowed. “There’s a bouquet of roses, a candle lit dinner in a fancy ass restaurant, and his arm is around her. What, that doesn’t look like a romantic date to you?”

Harriet didn’t say anything at first. Then Emma went ahead of herself, “Anyway, whatever. Good for them. I’d better be off now.”

“Where are you going?”

“It’s almost 6pm, Frank is picking me up. He should be here soon.” She reached for her purse and gave Harriet a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll call you later.”

“Okay,” Harriet said, concerned. “Please take care, Em.”

*

But Emma didn’t call Harriet for the rest of the evening. Frank had picked her up from the restaurant at a little past 6pm and seeing that Emma looked tired and was not in the mood, they decided to head to his apartment for a movie night instead.

Emma sat on his couch, hardly saying a word since she left the restaurant. Behind the kitchen counter, Frank had been studying her while cleaning some wine glasses.

“Are you not going to talk to me the whole night?” he finally said.

Caught off guard, Emma replied, “I’m sorry. I’m just tired.”

Frank went up to sit beside her and kissed her on the head. “Tell me, what’s been bothering you?”

“Nothing, I promise,” Emma looked up at him. “Are we having wine?”

“If you prefer it to beer.”

“Yes, please.”

“I thought so,” he smiled mischievously and got up. As he was preparing the glasses, Emma stretched her legs and reached for the remote.

“What are we watching tonight?”

“Well,” Frank said as he returned beside her and handed her the glass. “I was hoping we’d skip the movie tonight.” As he brushed a strand of hair from Emma’s face, Emma felt herself turn red.

“Well, what are we going to do then?”

“I was hoping we could just… you know, hang out,” he smiled at her. “Am I not allowed to spend alone time with my gorgeous girlfriend?” Then his gaze fell on her lips.

Before Emma knew it, the wine had hit them both and she was entangled with him. They were on the couch at first then realizing the space was a little tight for the two of them, they both ended up on Frank’s bed. The wine made everything slightly more blurry, but Emma definitely remembers tearing up a little at one point, confused as hell about her feelings. She didn’t know what she truly felt in her heart, and that moment with Frank didn’t quite help her decide.

Suddenly, in the midst of their panting, Emma asked him, “Do you really love me?”

Frank looked at her and chuckled softly. He gave a faint “Of course” as he proceeded to kiss her on the neck. More tears unconsciously rolled down from her eyes as she decided to savor the moment for what it was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YALL DONT K WORD ME FOR THE ENDING PLEASE IT HAD TO BE DONE BECAUSE ****ANGST****
> 
> I had to do a little research for the [restaurant](https://olioepiu.nyc) and [hotel](https://www.standardhotels.com/new-york/properties/east-village?utm_source=google&utm_campaign=google_my_business&utm_medium=organic) lmao as I’ve never been to New York 😪
> 
> Did anyone else catch the reference to Luke and Benny? 😏😏 If you’ve seen Johnny and Anya’s other projects, you’ll know. *wink


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> slight tw // mention of loss/death

Emma stretched and yawned. It took her several seconds to realize where she was. A little groggy, she blinked and reached for her phone. It was about 9 in the morning, and she also had completely forgotten what day it was.

Then it hit her.

She rolled over to see Frank’s fit figure sleeping soundly next to her. His arms were not so muscular, but she couldn’t deny that he may have worked out on several occasions. At first, Emma didn’t know what to do, and she blushed at the thought of her being shy around him the morning after their first time in bed together. 

Just as she was about to tap on his shoulder, Frank stretched and yawned. He felt Emma’s look on him, and turned around, a smirk on his face.

“Hey, gorgeous.”

“Hi,” she replied shyly.

“You seem happy.”

Emma felt her face flush. “What do you mean?”

“Nothing,” Frank said, smiling a bit. “What do you want to do today? Breakfast?”

“Actually…” Emma began. “I have to get home,” she said a little regretfully.

“Already?” Frank teased as he placed his hands on her waist.

“Yeah, I have to get home to papa,” she replied, awkwardly pulling his hand away. She then got up to find her clothes. “I’m sure he’s probably worried sick.”

“Nah, I’m sure the old man will be fine,” Frank said, putting his arms around his head. “But anyway, if you must go…”

Emma looked at him as she put on her jeans and smiled. “But I did have a great time.”

Frank smirked. “Did you?”

Emma went over to him and gave him a kiss. “Yes,” she said as she looked at him. “I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Okay, babe,” Frank replied and watched Emma head out of his room with the pink flush on her face still apparent.

*

On the Uber ride home, Emma tried reaching Harriet but her phone was unattended. She needed to know what Harriet told her father had he called her the night before about Emma’s whereabouts. She didn’t tell her father she wouldn’t be coming home, and neither did she tell Harriet that she ended up sleeping at – or with, rather – Frank.

Luckily for Emma, she reached Biddy in the front yard of their house. The old woman was tending to their rose bushes when Emma came up to her, somewhat gasping for air.

“Emma! My goodness, where have you been all night?!”

“I’m so sorry, Biddy!” Emma gasped. “I- well, I uh, is father home?”

“Yes, of course, he’s in his study,” Biddy replied. “What on earth happened to you? You’re bloody well lucky you have a sharp one for a friend.”

Emma furrowed her brows. “What do you mean?”

Biddy put her tools down and said, “Your father called Harriet last night and asked where you were. Your friend was smart enough to say that you’d be sleeping over at her apartment because you were too exhausted to go home.” Then she raised an eyebrow, giving Emma the “I know that’s nowhere near the truth” look.

Emma felt herself blush. “Oh gosh, Harriet… Thank you, Biddy. And I’m sorry.”

“Not me you should be sorry to,” she motioned towards the house. “Your father’s been worried sick. You know how he is.”

“Yes, yes, I understand,” Emma said, putting her hand on her forehead. “I’ll go to him now. Thanks, Biddy.”

As Emma approached her father’s study, she saw him at his usual position – slightly crouching enough to read the small print of the newspaper. Emma stood in the doorway for a few minutes before knocking.

Mr. Woodhouse looked up, both surprised and relieved to see his daughter before him. “Ah, Emma! Sweet child, where have you been all night?!”

Emma ran to embrace him, tears slightly forming in her eyes. “Papa, I’m so sorry! I should have called you.”

As he pulled away, he examined her as if he were a human x-ray. “Are you alright? What happened? Did you take medication? You might’ve caught the cold! Oh we have to see Dr. Perry right away—”

Emma put a hand on his shoulder. “Papa, I’m fine,” she reassured him. “I um, I slept at Harriet’s last night because I was just too tired to come home.”

“Yes, yes, I know, I spoke to her last night,” Mr. Woodhouse said. “My dear Emma, you should call me next time so I can have you seen by Dr. Perry straight away!”

“I’m okay, Papa,” Emma emphasized. “Really. It’s nothing. How about you, how are you? What are you up to?” she asked as she took a seat beside him.

“Oh, it’s the weekend wrap up on the paper, darling,” Mr. Woodhouse replied. He went on to explain to Emma his stock market predictions for the upcoming week, and Emma, though not understanding a single word he said, listened intently to her father being passionate about his field. He also talked about the latest medical discoveries which greatly fascinated him. Emma admired how much her father was so knowledgeable about all these things and thought about how she should spend more time with him now that he’s getting on with age. She also thought about how George spent more time with her father than she did, and felt slightly ashamed with herself.

Emma spent the rest of the afternoon with her father, whom she later pulled to the living room for a piano session. She knew how to play mainly because of her mother, but after she passed away, Emma stopped for a while and turned to other forms of art. This would be the first time she’s played again. The day unexpectedly turned out to be a very special one.

The afternoon flew by and it was time for Emma to head to work. She was working the night shift tonight and she was to take Harriet’s place from the day shift. Emma kissed her father goodbye and before heading out the door, she turned around and gave him a tight embrace.

“Love you so much, Papa,” she whispered.

Mr. Woodhouse held his daughter tight. “I love you, my princess.”

*

“You did WHAT?!”

Harriet’s voice echoed throughout the empty bar and dance floor as Emma slurped on her Diet Coke, avoiding eye contact for about five seconds.

“We uhhh…”

“You _slept_ with Frank Churchill!”

“You make it sound so bad!!”

“No, no, I’m sorry…” Harriet scratched her head. “I just… wow. I don’t know what to say!”

Emma blushed and said nothing. When she had arrived at the Haberdashery five minutes earlier, she caught Harriet cleaning the last of the dishes. She was folding her apron when Emma broke the news to her.

“Well?” Harried continued. “How was it?”

Then the two friends snorted. “Wait no,” Harriet laughed. “Don’t answer that!”

Emma laughed. “Harriet,” she said, turning a little serious. “Thank you – for covering for me last night. I owe you so much for that.”

Harriet smiled proudly. “I knew your father would look for you. And it’s a good thing I knew Frank was picking you up yesterday, otherwise… phew!” Then she reverted back to the previous topic. “Wait, so… Tell me! What happened? Not like the disgusting details, okay. But like... what, did he say he loved you? Did _YOU_ say you loved him? Oh my God—”

“Harriet, calm down,” Emma laughed. “We didn’t exactly say ‘I love you’ to each other, but there was a moment when I asked him if he did, and he responded ‘yeah, of course’,” then she paused and smiled at the recollection.

Harriet was studying her friend. She saw how happy Emma was as she was gushing about her night with Frank and how he made her feel. Harriet formed a dear smile for her best friend.

“Em, if you’re happy, then I’m happy,” she said as she placed her hand on Emma’s.

Emma returned the smile along with a sigh of relief knowing that her best friend finally truly supported her relationship with Frank. Harriet then finished folding her uniform and closed her locker.

Turning to Emma, she teased, “But that is the last time I’m covering up for you while you lose your virginity.”

“Harriet!!”

Harriet giggled. She reached for her phone which just chimed in a message. “Oh, Rob’s out front. I should get going.” She motioned in for a hug. Emma gave her the “come on, as if you’re not about to do the same thing” look, and the two girls laughed it out as Harriet left.

*

Emma spent her shift somewhat on cloud nine, thinking of how amazing the past 24 hours have been. First, she spent an intimate night alone with her boyfriend and woke up beside him after an amazing night together. Then, she shared the entire afternoon bonding with her father. After that, her best friend finally comes to terms with her relationship. It was all going so well and nothing was bothering her in the slightest. What could possibly go wrong?

As Emma was skipping on the way back to the bar, her boss, Benny, came from behind the staff room. He was wearing his usual serious face, so Emma didn’t care to notice that this was not his usual serious face at all.

“Emma,” he called. “Please stop what you’re doing and get over here please.”

Emma put the tray she was carrying on the bar counter. “But Benny, I have to serve these drinks!”

Benny walked over to her and gave her a stern look. “Look, little missy, I’m your boss, so if I tell you to stop working, you come over here and stop working, alright?”

Emma groaned. “Alright. What did I do wrong now?”

“Your sister called,” he said glumly and then breathed a deep sigh before saying the next words. “It’s a grave emergency.”

The next few minutes that passed were a blur to Emma. Next thing she knew, she was running through the halls of the hospital to the emergency room where her sister and brother-in-law were waiting.

Isabella was distraught and John was holding her. Emma ran straight to them, gasping for air.

“Papa!! Where is Papa!!!” she shrieked.

Isabella couldn’t put out a word, so John answered, “He’s in the ICU, Dr. Perry’s seeing that he’s stable. Please relax the both of you…”

Emma was stunned. While her older sister was losing her composure, Emma fell on her knees and prayed for a miracle. A little while later, as if it was heard, she heard Harriet’s voice from down the hallway. She came with Rob and to Emma’s surprise, Frank, who picked her up from the cold floor to sit on the bench. She began sobbing on his shoulder as he put his arm around her. Harriet sat beside Emma and began rubbing her arm to calm her down.

Within a few moments, Dr. Perry, the family’s resident and preferred physician, emerged from the ICU. He had a glum face and sighed deeply as he approached Isabella, who immediately stood up.

“Mrs. Knightley, Ms. Woodhouse,” he began as he turned to the sisters. “I’d be lying if I said your father is well. He’s not; he suffered a heart attack earlier this evening and he was lucky to have been brought by your caretaker here to the emergency room.”

No response from the girls.

“You understand your father is too old to undergo any procedure,” Dr. Perry continued. “Though he is conscious now, he is under a coma… I’m afraid the only thing we can do now is pray, really hard, for a miracle.” He looked at John, who was the only family member who wasn’t still shaking. “I’m sorry,” Dr. Perry sighed and excused himself.

After the doctor left, Isabella gritted her teeth and turned to Emma. “This wouldn’t have happened if you went home and not let him worry!!”

“Me?!” Emma said, shocked that her sister decided to play the blame game. “What does this have to do with me? We were perfectly fine together this afternoon! How was I supposed to know this was going to happen?!”

“Stop it, the both of you,” John scolded. “The last thing your father needs is the two of you to be quarreling. He needs a miracle, that’s what Dr. Perry said, and we gotta be strong for him if we are to want that miracle.”

Emma frowned at her sister and stomped away to the waiting area where Harriet sat waiting for her. When she saw Emma’s face, she knew it didn’t look good.

“Where are the boys?” Emma asked as she sat down.

“Went for a smoke,” Harriet said, handing her a cup of coffee. “They got us coffee before they left.”

The girls drank in silence. Tired and exhausted, Emma’s head fell on Harriet’s shoulder. As she was staring into the abyss, a few minutes later, John entered the room and was on the phone. He was obviously talking to someone, and Emma only had a guess as to who.

“Yeah, just try, okay? You may still get to see him,” Emma overheard John say. “Wait, seriously? That’s terrible! Okay, okay. Let’s update each other, okay?”

Isabella appeared from the hallway, looking shaken and tired. John got off the phone and turned to her.

“There’s a hurricane hitting the East Coast right now, so he won’t be able to fly out for another few hours.”

Emma watched as her older sister and brother-in-law sat opposite them on the other side of the room. She watched as John put his jacket as well as his arm around her sister, who was looking empty and exhausted. It would be nice to have that too, she thought. Earlier, Frank had embraced her as she buried her sobs on his chest, but now, he’s nowhere to be found, not that it had bothered her in the slightest. She was too tired to think. After a while, Emma drifted off to sleep.

She was awoken by Harriet who saw that Isabella and John had been called back into the ICU. She also told Emma that Frank and Robert had gone home because they both had school the next day, but mentioned that Frank would be available on his phone anytime Emma needed him. Emma disregarded that for the moment as she and Harriet followed the couple to the ICU room.

Then she heard a loud scream.

As they entered the hallway to the ICU, Emma found Isabella on the floor, weeping as John tried to get herself together and at the same time, he was conversing with Dr. Perry who shook his head in what seemed to be great sadness.

Emma froze at the spot. Tears started swelling from her eyes as she watched the scenario before her and knew right away what it meant. Her shaking hand covered her mouth in shock and the tears fell slowly as if her surroundings started fading away. Harriet got hold of Emma as she, too, fell to the floor, crying.

*

The funeral took place the next afternoon at the Highbury chapel. Everything happened so quickly, Emma didn’t realize it would be that soon. She had no time to prepare. But then again, no one ever does when it comes to these things.

The ceremony was short but solemn. Mr. Woodhouse was not particularly a religious and sentimental person, and he avoided mushy feelings. The only emotions he had ever shown was with his family, especially his two daughters, who were now orphans.

At the chapel, the sisters sat side by side, with John at Isabella’s side and Frank at Emma’s. Harriet and Rob were also there at the pew behind them. John gave the eulogy in behalf of the sisters, who were too emotionally exhausted for the task.

After the burial, which took place in the cemetery just outside the chapel grounds, as the crowd started dispersing one by one, Emma sat alone by her father’s tomb. It was filled with flowers and cards, and she sat there and admired each one of them. Suddenly, she noticed a tiny bear in the center, with a small card that read, “All my love, G.”

She was caught by surprise at the unusual item and picked up the bear. She sniffed and looked around among the crowd.

And there he was, approaching her slowly, with a small wave and a smile that was all too familiar.

Emma got up and tiptoed to embrace George, who gave her the tightest and warmest hug ever. It was such a familiar feeling that she missed so much, and suddenly, just for a moment, her sadness had been taken away.

“I am deeply sorry, Em,” George said softly as they pulled away. “My condolences.”

“Thank you,” Emma sniffed, not looking up. “Did you catch the ceremony?”

“Yeah, yeah, I did, but it was halfway done, so I waited outside. And I didn’t want to interrupt.”

“You should have come in,” Emma said. “You’re family.”

George smiled but didn’t say anything.

“He considered you his son, you know that,” Emma continued, finally looking at him.

“Yeah, I know,” he replied. “I miss him.”

“I miss him too…” Emma sobbed as she fell back on his chest. George hesitantly wrapped his arms around her but eventually tried to hush her.

“Oi, Knightley, hands of my girl!”

Frank appeared from the crowd and immediately pulled Emma away from George’s arms into his.

“I got this,” he said, holding Emma firmly.

“Don’t be a prick, Frank,” George mumbled.

“I’m not being a prick, bro,” Frank replied coolly. “I’m just saying, I can take care of _my_ girl if she’s crying, you know. But hey, we thank you for coming.”

“I’m part of the family too, Frank.” George gritted.

“Yeah, yeah, but only because your brother is married to Emma’s sister,” Frank shrugged. “I’m still Emma’s boyfriend.”

“Do you have to make everything about you?!”

“Well, you can’t really blame me—”

“Stop it!” Emma scolded. “Stop it, the both of you! This is my father’s funeral, please give him some respect.”

The two boys glared at each other but George, for Emma’s sake, decided to back it off. Frank saw this is as a win and gave a firm nod signaling Emma it was time for them to go.

“Let’s go, babe,” he told her.

George and Emma both exchanged looks of apologies as Emma turned away with Frank’s arm still around her. As the couple walked away, George took a deep sigh and stood by Mr. Woodhouse’s tomb for another few minutes. Then he walked over to under one of the trees, took out a pen and a piece of paper that he had taken from his flight from his pocket and began writing.

Later that afternoon, after the guests had gone home, John drove George back to the airport. He had only a small backpack this time because it was an extremely short trip, shorter than when he arrived on Emma’s 18th birthday. He just really wanted to come home and pay his respects to the man who stood as his father figure.

Before he entered the departure gates, George took out the folded piece of paper from his pocket.

“John, may I request something of you?” he asked his brother.

“Sure, of course,” John replied.

“Please give this to Emma when you see her,” he requested as he handed over the paper.

“What’s this?”

“Nothing. It’s just a letter, but promise me you won’t read it and that it will get to her.”

John smiled. “Yes, of course,” he said as he brought in a hug. “Safe travel, little brother.”

George sighed then he was off.

*

John returned to the house and found that Emma wasn’t home yet. He took word from Biddy that she would be brought home by Frank. He held onto the letter and decided to check on Isabella and their children upstairs.

A few minutes later, he heard a car pull up out front. It was Frank’s car.

“Hey babe, I’m sorry about earlier,” Frank said as he turned off the vehicle. “I didn’t mean to upset you further.”

Emma, who hadn’t said a word the entire trip, sniffed, “It’s okay.”

Frank put his hand on her lap. “Come on, stay with me tonight. You don’t want to be here, it’s awfully depressing. In fact, you know what, stay with me for a few days. You’ll need time to, you know, be alone and shit.”

Emma thought about it for a few minutes then nodded. “I’ll just get my things.”

The couple got off the car and Frank followed Emma inside. She hurriedly went upstairs to pack her things that she will need while Frank waited downstairs.

Upon hearing they had arrived, John went down to the living room and inquired for Emma from Frank.

“Oh, she’s upstairs, packing,” he replied.

“Packing?”

“Oh, she’ll be staying with me for a few days,” Frank said. “Just to, you know, recover.”

John looked puzzled but didn’t inquire further. Everyone was either too tired or too distraught at the events to seem to have an extra care. Suddenly, he heard a commotion in the backyard and excused himself from Frank, absent-mindedly leaving the letter on the side table.

This caught Frank’s curiosity and saw that the letter had Emma’s name on it. He opened it and read that it had come from George. At that moment, he burned with annoyance and rage that he crumpled the letter and threw it into the trash can in Mr. Woodhouse’s study.

Just then, Emma had descended from her room with a duffel bag and a backpack, signaling that she was ready to go. She saw Frank by her father’s study and it was still too painful for her to look at so she went ahead of him to the car, sobbing again. Frank ran after her and they were off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the depressing chapter, but it had to be done since it's part of the _Love, Rosie_ plot! I hope I was able to write it properly, loosely also basing it from my own experience when I lost my close uncle three years ago. I pictured Mr. Woodhouse to be around the same age as he was.
> 
> Oh and if you're still here keeping up with this story, thank you and I love you ✨❤️


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year everyone!!! Starting the year right by continuing my fic lmao again I'm so sorry for the delay in updates! Work is really eating me alive + the holidays came up so everything just became really crazy, but I finally had time to sit down and write!
> 
> I really really reaaaaally appreciate all the kudos and comments; one of the best feelings in the world for me is when someone shows even the tiniest appreciation for my writing. I could literally cry if I could lmao so please, I hope yall enjoy this bit of an emotional and personal chapter! <33

Emma spent the next few days in total isolation. She barely got out of bed and only did so to grab food just so she could eat on the bed. It didn’t quite help that Frank was away a lot at school, too. And when he was around, he tried to be playful around Emma but she just didn’t feel the same way. On the few days that she did feel like it, it was only because she wanted to distract herself and wanted to see if she still felt any emotions at all.

Days then turned into weeks. Losing her father was perhaps one of the most painful things she’d ever felt in her whole life. She was too young to remember the death of her mother – Isabella probably remembered – but Emma didn’t. There was barely any emotional connection with her mother unlike with her father. And especially when Isabella got married, she and her father had become inseparable. She never left his side, no matter what.

And then there was George, an added member of the family. The trio would always sit together especially on Sundays and it was enough to fill the gaps of their missing family members. They’ve always been closely knit, and they’ve always filled up each other’s empty spaces. Growing up, all she could remember was pure happiness with them.

And now that both of them are no longer by Emma’s side, what else is there for her left to feel?

From the moment George left for New York, she lost one part of her and somehow she still hasn’t come to terms with him being so far away that she felt sure he was gone from her life. And now that her father has passed on, it’s another burden she’ll have to bear and be in denial with for what will seem to be a long, long time.

Then when she saw George at the funeral, she wasn’t sure what she felt. She was definitely in grief but was that grief a substitute for happiness when she saw him and felt his embrace around her?

One afternoon didn’t help lift Emma’s spirits. Isabella called and invited Emma to have lunch with her. After much convincing from her older sister that she needed to be reminded what the sun still looked like, Emma begrudgingly agreed.  
“Thanks for coming to see me, Em,” Isabella said as Emma took her seat across her. “You know, outside.”

Emma grimaced. “Can we just get to it, please? What is it that’s so important that you needed me to have lunch with you?”

Isabella didn’t say anything for a moment then took a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll get straight to it then. I think we should sell the house.”

Emma blinked. That was indeed straightforward. “But why?”

“Well… With father no longer around, there’s no point in you staying in such a big house all alone, is there?”

“Wait hold on, where will I stay?!” Emma exclaimed. “And what about Biddy?”

“Calm down, Em,” Isabella said. “I thought you were staying with Frank now?”

“Well it’s only temporary…”

“You haven’t been home in almost two weeks.”

Emma scowled. “But what about Biddy?” she repeated. “Where’s she gonna go?!”

“Biddy will stay with us,” Isabella said. “She’ll be taking care of the kids.”

“Where does that leave me, Isabella? Huh? Is everything going to be taken away from me?!”

“Em, please,” Isabella said as she put her hand on her sister’s. “We’ll help you find an apartment of course. I just don’t think it’s wise that you’d be staying alone in a big and empty house. Father wouldn’t have approved of it.”

Emma frowned and tears started to swell from her eyes. Isabella looked at her sadly and the two didn’t say anything further for the next ten minutes.

After their lunch, Isabella dropped Emma back at Frank’s apartment. “I’ll call you soon, Em. Will let you know how things go with the sale.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Emma replied glumly. “See you, Isabella.”

When Emma entered the apartment, it seemed as though things couldn’t get any worse, but it did. The upsetting news just kept coming and coming. Frank had come home to tell her that he would be heading to London again because his aunt had been rushed back to the hospital. This had upset Emma a lot but at the same time she tried to understand him, having known the feeling herself. There was just too much to absorb that day.

When Frank had left for London, Emma decided there was nothing left to do but to return home only to find a “For Sale” sign out on their lawn. When she opened the front door with her keys, to her surprise, the house was filled with boxes and stuff were already being emptied out.

She shook her head and ran upstairs to her room where she isolated herself once more for the next few days. Then on about the second or third day, Emma heard a knock on her door followed by a familiar voice.

“Em?” came Harriet’s sweet voice through the door. “It’s me. I’ve been calling you and I got so worried that you weren’t picking up.”

Emma sniffed.

“Can you open up, please?”

After a few seconds of hesitation, Emma got up and opened the door to a tight embrace from her best friend.

“Oh Emma!” Harried exclaimed in relief. “I was so worried about you. What happened? I thought you were at Frank’s?”

“He’s gone,” she muttered.

“Huh? Gone where?”

“To London. He’s gone, everyone’s gone! Everyone is getting taken away from me! Even this house is being taken!!” Emma cried as she fell on her bed, hands on her face.

Harriet sat next to her and put a hand on her back. “Em, I’m still here. I mean, it’s not like we’ve known each other very long but I hope you know I’ll always be here for you when you need me.”

Emma continued sobbing as her head fell on Harriet’s shoulder. “Everyone’s being taken away from me, Harriet…” she repeated, sniffing. “First George, then papa, then Frank…”

Harriet sighed deeply and tightened her arms around Emma. “I understand, Em. It’s not easy, but I know deep down you’re strong and you can overcome all of this pain.”

“What else is left to do, Harriet? I don’t even have a house to stay in anymore…”

“You know what, why don’t you come and stay with me? At least until you figure things out,” Harriet said. “In fact, you know what, you should have stayed with me from the beginning! Frank didn’t even help you in your grieving process now, did he?”

Emma said nothing.

“It’s settled, then!” Harriet declared. “You, Miss Emma Woodhouse, will be under my care until further notice!”

“But wait, what about Rob?”

“What about him?” Harried asked. “He’s at university on weekdays and is only home mostly on weekends. Besides, he wouldn’t have it any other way. Especially if he sees you like this, oh dear.”

*

It took a year before the Woodhouse home was sold. Over this time, Emma found herself healing and moving on from what might have been her annus horribilis to date. She owed a lot of that to Harriet, who was with her every step of the way, and for that she was forever grateful to her dearest friend.

During this time, Emma was able to pour in her time in art and painting. She painted almost immediately after she had finished a previous piece. She also got into photography and even scored several photography gigs around town for small parties and events at the Haberdashery. And while she wasn’t working at the Haberdashery, she would join small town art fairs. All of these really helped her recover a lot and every bit of sadness within her was transformed into beautiful things. She was able to piece herself back together like a beautiful broken vase.

And Harriet was with her through it all. She and Rob helped Emma where they could – score her small tables at art fairs or reach out to people they knew to help her get gigs at events. Harriet’s apartment also had a small balcony and it became Emma’s little nook where she would do her artwork especially during early mornings and late afternoons. 

The two friends still continued to work at the Haberdashery, too. Though serious as he was, Benny was very pushy in a supportive way of the girls and how they worked so they actually enjoy their work. One afternoon after their shift, Emma and Harriet went off to get some iced coffee down the street at a newly opened café. 

“No wonder people have been raving about this place!” Emma said as they exited the café.

“It’s good, isn’t it?” Harriet agreed. “Next time, let’s try their frappes.”

“Definitely will be back sooner than you think,” Emma said and as she took a sip from her straw, she stopped and squinted in front of her. Harriet, surprised, stopped as well to see what she was looking at.

“Anne?”

The lady turned around and gasped. “Emma?! Oh my gosh!” Anne immediately pulled in for a hug. “How have you been?! It’s been ages since we last saw each other!”

“Yeah, I’m great,” Emma chuckled as she pulled away. “How are you, you look great! Oh, and you remember Harriet?” she motioned towards Harriet who was just quietly but fondly observing the scene.

“Yes, of course! New year’s!” Anne recalled. “Nice to see you again, Harriet,” she smiled. 

Then her face softened a little as she turned back to Emma. She took her hand and said, “God, Emma, I’m so sorry about your father. He was such a wonderful dad to you.”

Wanting to change the subject immediately, Emma quickly said, “Yeah, thanks… So, what are you doing in town?”

“Oh, I’m just visiting some of my relatives,” Anne explained shortly.

“I see… Oh, and where’s Randall? How is he?”

“We’re um… We’re on a break,” Anne sighed sarcastically.

“What? Why?”

“Well, you know how different the both of us are… One day I just couldn’t take his party animal life, and told him that if he wasn’t going to outgrow his high school self, he probably will be immature forever.”

“So I told him to call me when he’s finally decided to mature,” Anne continued, scoffing. She shook her head. “But hey, what about you and Frank? How are you guys doing?”

Emma and Harriet looked at each other. “Ummm,” Emma started. “I don’t know, actually. I don’t know how we are, I guess we’re just… yeah,” she laughed.

“Why, what do you mean? I heard you guys are getting on strong!”

“Yeah, well, he comes and goes from London like every two or three weeks and only stays for a day or two, and that’s the longest,” Emma muttered. “But I’m trying to understand it you know, because his aunt is very sick and well I kinda know how that feels like…”

Anne’s expression changed. “His aunt?” she inquired. “His aunt passed on six months ago, Em…”

The gasp that escaped Harriet’s mouth was so sudden that Anne got caught off guard. Harriet looked at Emma who looked like she had a million thoughts going through her head all at once. When she finally came to her senses, Emma was amused and gave a light chuckle.

“I’m so sorry Anne, but we must leave,” she said, taking Harriet’s hand. “But it was nice seeing you! I’ll call you.” She gave Anne a quick smack and led Harriet down the street. When they reached the corner, she stopped and took out her phone.

“Emma, what are you doing?” Harriet asked, catching her breath.

“I hope you didn’t plan anything for tonight Harriet,” Emma said, typing on her phone really fast. “Because we’re going on a little road trip to London!”

*

The girls arrived at the Churchill’s flat in central London at around 7 in the evening. Harriet was still so confused at this point but followed Emma as she entered the building elevator. When they stopped at the penthouse floor, they were met by an old woman who was the only other resident on the floor.

“Hi,” Emma said nicely as she approached the old lady. “Is this the floor where the Churchills live?

“Why, yes,” the old lady replied. “But they aren’t in today, I’m afraid.”

“Oh,” Emma said. “Where did they go?”

“Well, Mrs. Churchill has long gone – bless her, she was a friend – and Mr. Churchill had retired to the country,” the old lady responded. Emma looked at her, waiting for her to continue. “And the boy…”

“Yes, Frank, where is he?” Emma inquired, trying to keep her emotions at bay.

The old lady thought for a second. “Ah, yes, the tall fellow… Such a handsome young lad. They left not too long ago, you just missed ‘em.”

“I beg your pardon, ‘they’?” Emma said through gritted teeth.

“Yes, the handsome boy with a beautiful young lady,” the old lady smiled. “She looked much like you, my dear. Except she had dark hair.”

Emma scoffed and once again, Harriet could not contain her gasp. 

“I’m so very sorry to have disturbed you, ma’am,” Emma smiled. “Thank you so much, you were very helpful.”

As Emma turned and walked away quickly, Harriet following her, the old lady then asked, “Oh, why do you ask?” But they were gone.

Down at the lobby, Emma was trying to keep her cool while walking out of the building and out into the street. Harriet, out of breath, tried to keep up.

“Em, please,” she panted. “What on earth are we doing? Are we going on a wild goose chase for Frank now?”

“That’s exactly what we’re going to do, Harriet,” Emma said, her eyes intently scanning their surroundings. “I want to confirm this once and for all.”

She stopped for a moment then suddenly, her eyes fixed itself on the restaurant across the street. “Bingo.”

Harriet followed a hasty and surely angry Emma across the street. She could feel the anger coming out of her friend that she forgot about catching her breath. She followed Emma as she burst into the restaurant and walked straight up to the bar where a fair and dark-haired woman was facing a seated, tall guy in a leather jacket. She was biting her lip as she was laughing at whatever he was saying, and his hands were caressing the bare skin of her thighs. Even with his back turned to her, Emma knew she was not mistaken.

Without second thoughts, she walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. To Frank’s utmost shock (and a quick “oh shit”), as he turned around, Emma gave him the strongest punch she could ever pull off. She punched him so hard he fell on the floor and the dark-haired girl screamed. Harriet gasped once more but this time it ended with a really loud cackle.

Emma glared at him as his face turned red while on the floor. She didn’t say anything, she just stood there and watched him as he tried to pull out words from his mouth. Just then, Harriet noticed a waiter pass by, and without thinking, took the glass of water he was carrying and poured it at Frank’s now bleeding face.

Emma smirked as he yelled from the ice cold water and the two girls laughed and turned away, triumphant.

*

Emma felt like a free spirit now that she finally ended her one-sided and dull relationship with Frank Churchill. She was able to move freely and not be bound by his vanity and expectations. For a while, she even felt like her old self again, the old Emma who wasn’t even interested in dating at all. Yeah, she stumbled, and that’s okay, but now she’s back.

One afternoon a week later, Emma was alone in the apartment, trying to do some sketches for an upcoming art fair. The doorbell suddenly rang and as she opened the door, to her surprise, it was Biddy. She was carrying a box and had a warm smile on her face.

“Biddy!”

“Emma, my dearest,” the old woman said and embraced Emma ever so tightly.

“Come on in! I’m sorry for the mess,” Emma giggled.

“Oh, you crazy girl, you best believe that I’ll make sure to come over one of these days to clean up this lot!”

Emma laughed and offered Biddy to sit, but the old lady was in a rush.

“I just came to quickly drop these off for you, my dear,” she smiled as she placed the box on the coffee table.

“What is it?”

Biddy smiled fondly. “You know, when your father was alive, he made it a habit to keep his study as tidy as it could possibly be. And I only went in to throw his trash only once a month.”

“But father never has any real trash, just crumpled pieces of paper that were sometimes important stuff,” Emma recalled.

“Exactly,” Biddy replied. “So when we went through his things when we were packing up, I was surprised to find trash in the bin. Now, I’m not sure if they would mean anything to you but I kept them for you just in case.”

Emma smiled at the thoughtful action. “Oh, Biddy…”

“He would have wanted you to have them,” Biddy said. “Along with his other things, of course.”

Emma felt her eyes swell a bit before she looked up to her old housekeeper. “Thank you,” she said softly.

Biddy wiped a rolling tear from Emma’s face. “You deserve so much happiness, Emma. Your father would have wanted you to be happy.”

“I’m working on it,” she sniffed.

And with that, it was time for Biddy to leave. Emma took her downstairs to the Uber she had booked for her then after turning around the corner, she was gone.

For an August afternoon, it was quite chilly so Emma wrapped her arms around herself as she headed back upstairs. It was getting late but she knew Harriet and Rob were out on a date and they wouldn’t be back until later, so she decided to prepare a hot cup of tea before sitting on the couch to have some alone time.

As she sat on the couch, she looked curiously at the box Biddy had left her. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to reopen the wound that the sudden death of her father had left her, but as she was working on fixing her life and putting it back together, Emma sighed and reached for the lid.

She opened it to find lots and lots of papers as she suspected. She went through them one by one, smiling at each one and guessing why he threw them away. There were newspaper clippings which Emma guessed her father didn’t find interesting or relevant. There were notes with scribbles of his thoughts that never made it to article drafts. But there was one in particular that didn’t match anything that could have been from her father.

It was an envelope with her name on it. What made Emma even more curious was that she was so sure the handwriting belonged to someone else.

She opened the letter and as she began to read, tears started rolling down her eyes once more. Tears were accompanied by soft laughs and a glimmer of hope that she had not felt in a very, very long time.

_My dearest Emma,_

_I don’t know why I’m writing this letter when I could simply send you a text or say it to you in person. I guess I’m afraid you won’t feel the same way, and we would just end up in a much worse and even more awkward place than we already are in now. But here it goes._

_Are you happy, Em?_

_Because you deserve someone who loves you with every single beat of his heart. Someone who thinks about you constantly. Someone who spends every minute of every day just wondering what you’re doing, where you are, who you’re with, and if you’re okay._

_You need someone who can help you reach your dreams and protect you from your fears. You need someone who will treat you with respect, love every part of you, especially your flaws._

_You should be with someone who could make you happy – really happy. Dancing on air happy._

_I know he’s not the man for you, Em. I know because I know you, and I know what’s in your heart because you’re my best friend._

_Friend. I’m scared of that word now. Please tell me, Emma, will you give me a chance? I suck at speeches, you know that. That’s why I’m writing to you instead, opening my heart to you and hoping you feel the same way, too._

_If you do, please give me a sign, because my heart can’t take it any longer. The day we fought and you left so suddenly, my heart shattered into pieces and I just wanted to run after you. Because I never want to lose you like that ever again. Every bit of my heart that breaks whenever I see you with him tries to piece itself back together on that tiny bit of hope that you do love me too._

_I’ve always loved you, Emma. And I believe my blasted heart will keep loving you…_

_I wish I could talk about it more, but that’s only if I loved you any less than I already do._

_Love,  
George_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So……………. the letter 😁 I hope you guys noticed that I plucked the letter Sam Claflin wrote in the film while ya know, adding that “George Knightley” personal touch to it, if you know what I mean 😏
> 
> I also tried to write about the struggles of mental health from the perspective of someone suffering from depression. It’s never easy to lose someone, whether it may be through death, a break up, or just any kind of loss, really. Emma’s experience here reflects a bit of what I went through during my annus horribilis in 2013, and I hope I was able to give it a bit of justice by sharing my experience this way.
> 
> Last two chapters to go!! I loved writing this fic so much, it’s opened up a lot in the amateur writer in me, and I promise this won’t be the last fic from the fandom 😉
> 
> (P.S. isn’t Harriet like, the **_best EVER?_** )
> 
> (P.S.S. also, just try to imagine Lily Allen's "Fuck You" playing in the background when Emma almost knocks Frank Churchill's soul out of this realm)


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got waaay too excited to write this chapter, aka what I believe is the fic's climax chapter, so I do hope you guys enjoy! <33
> 
> This is the second to the last chapter, and I just wanted to say how happy I am to be able to write this fic and bring some of my headcanons to life lol and thank you to all of you who loved it. It means the world to me <3

Emma sat on the couch, re-reading the letter a few more times before her face had completely flushed red and was wet with tears. After all this time, the feelings she had kept for George were finally resurfacing to be the truth. If only she’d known, she wouldn’t have wasted nearly two years of her life with that ass Frank Churchill. Now here is the confirmation that her feelings are more than valid – they’re reciprocated.

She also thought for a second on why the letter was in her father’s trash bin. It was dated the day of his funeral, so he couldn’t have been the one who threw it. And why would he? Her father loved George like a son. She couldn’t well wrap her head around how it ended up in the trash of all places, but she had too much emotions to overthink all of that.

Overjoyed, she reached for her phone and started dialing George on Facetime. She wasn’t sure of what to say, but at this point, she didn’t really care as much. All she wanted to tell him was that she loved him and that she, too, never wanted to lose him ever again.

Emma waited nervously for the other end to pick up. And when it finally did, she was startled by the person on the other line.

“Jane??”

“Emma! Hi!” a chipper Jane replied from the phone screen. “It’s so nice to see you! How have you been?”

Emma’s mouth fell and she didn’t quite know what to answer. “Um… Great. Uh, is… Is George there?”

And right at that moment, she saw him emerge in the background from what Emma recognized is his bathroom. He was in the exact same clothes that he wore the day they had their argument, and he had the same scruffy ash brown hair all messed up from a good shower. The expression on his face when he saw Emma on the other line was unexplainable.

When Jane noticed Emma’s gaze moved behind her, she turned around and smiled. “Oh, there he is! George, come say hi! It’s Emma.”

“Em…” he said softly.

Emma was speechless. She was speechless because she saw how handsome he looked but she was even more so because of what she was seeing in front of her.

“I’m sorry,” Jane said as she got up and handed the phone to George. “I picked it up when I saw it was Emma. I just wanted to say hi!”

George smiled sheepishly. “That’s alright.”

“I’ll go make some tea,” Jane said as she caressed her hand on his shoulder.

George nodded then turned to Emma. “Hi,” he managed to blurt out.

“Hi,” Emma replied softly and gave a small smile.

“Um, how are you?”

“I’m… I’m good.”

“That’s good.”

Sensing an awkward air, Emma quickly said, “I’m sorry, I must’ve called at a bad time-”

“No, no, of course not,” George cut her off. “Never a bad time. I’m glad that you called,” he smiled.

Emma couldn’t help but blush a bit but she was trying to choke back her tears. “I’m not interrupting?”

“No,” George replied quickly. 

“Oh, because I just wanted to-”

“Here you go,” Jane said as she reappeared with two mugs of coffee and handed one to George. She looked at him dearly and smiled. “Hey, did you tell her yet?”

While Jane was talking, Emma couldn’t help but notice her hand. There was something shiny on it and it took Emma ten seconds to realize what it was. Right that moment, she wanted to just end the call because the tears were really starting to come.

“Oh uh, yeah, I was about to,” George told her, scratching his head. He turned to Emma, who was still on the phone. “Hey, Em, um… Listen, we’re um, we’re having a party next week.”

“A party? That sounds fun,” Emma said, trying to keep her cool. “What-what’s the occasion?”

Jane and George exchanged quick glances, both of them slightly blushing. But George couldn’t get the words out, so Jane chimed in for him.

“It’s our engagement party!” she said excitedly as she showed Emma her ring.

At this point, Emma was already an expert at controlling her tears. “W-wow,” she croaked. “An engagement party? Isn’t it uh, a little too early? I mean – that’s great. Wow, that’s great. Happy for you.”

There was a momentary awkward silence and Jane sensed it. “Well, you’ll come, won’t you?” she asked sweetly. 

“It would mean the world for us if you were there! You were the one who introduced us to each other, after all,” she smiled. “And George can’t not have his best friend around for such an important occasion!” She looked at George who was now avoiding eye contact with either of them and his face was turning red.

“Yeah, of course,” George swallowed. “I’d love to have you there, Em.”

“Oh,” Emma said quietly. “Um, I’ll have to see my schedule, but I’ll see…”

“That’s great!” Jane exclaimed. “Looking forward to seeing you again, Em!”

Emma laughed dryly. George finally made eye contact with her again and quickly asked, “You were about to say something too, Em?”

“Oh, no, it’s-it’s nothing,” Emma chuckled. “I just wanted to say hi, that’s all,” she smiled. “Anyway, I should go, I have to… uh, fix some stuff. I’ll uh, talk soon.”

She was about to end the call but Jane quickly repeated, “Please come okay?” with Emma responding with a quick nod and then she pressed the red button.

Emma exhaled deeply and fell back on the couch, staring blankly at the wall. Finally, the tears were able to roll down her eyes. As silent tears turned into loud sobs, Emma heard a key turn in the doorknob down the main hallway. Harriet’s laugh followed along with Rob’s deep voice.

As Harriet made her way to the living room, her laugh disappeared when she saw Emma sitting on the couch crying by herself.

“Emma! What’s wrong?” she said, quickly sitting next to her. “What happened?”

Emma said nothing at first except her cries only became louder as her face fell on Harriet’s shoulders. Harriet wrapped her arms around her friend as she looked over to Rob who nodded and said, “I’ll go make some tea.”

A few minutes later when the tears finally stopped, Emma took a sip of the warm cup of tea Rob had made and sat curled up in the couch, staring at the letter. Harriet was in disbelief.

“Wait, wait, let me backtrack a bit here,” Harriet said. “You found this letter crumpled in your dad’s old things? And then you called George to tell him about it, but then _Jane_ was there and they’re, what the hell, _engaged_?!”

Emma nodded quietly, still staring at the letter.

“I don’t believe it!” Harriet exclaimed, standing up and pacing. “I don’t believe this, Em. This must be some kind of sick joke because I don’t, for one second, believe that he loves her. At least not really.”

“Neither do I,” Rob muttered as he took a sip from his mug.

“Right, babe?!” Harriet said.

“Look guys, I appreciate your concern, but it’s over,” Emma said. “I’m clearly too late.”

“No, you’re not, Em,” Harriet said as she sat down again beside Emma. “This letter proves it!”

“Harriet,” Emma began. “In case you haven’t noticed, this letter was dated over a year ago. He’s now proposed to another girl, the same girl stupid me set him up with all those years ago…” Her voice faded slightly. “You didn’t see the look on his face when he was looking at Jane…”

“No, but I can see your face now,” Harriet said matter-of-factly. When neither of them said anything for the next minute, Harriet declared, “I think we should go to New York.”

“What?” answered a bewildered Emma.

“We’re going to New York!” Harriet repeated. She looked at Rob. “What do you think, babe?”

“Totally agree, babe,” he answered.

“Guys no,” Emma said. “It’s too expensive and I don’t think I have the time…”

“Nonsense,” Harriet said coolly. “Rob’s sister works at British Airways, right, babe?”

Rob nodded and smiled widely. “Gonna call her now.” He reached for his phone and stood up.

Emma looked at Harriet. “Harriet, this is crazy… He’s moved on, why should I keep pushing myself on him?”

“Because,” Harriet emphasized. “He doesn’t know that you feel the same way. Go there and tell him yourself. Then if he doesn’t return it, then you’ll have your closure once and for all.”

“And get my heart broken again?”

Harriet paused for a while and sighed. “Well… it would be a necessary wound, if ever… But I am freaking confident that you won’t go home with a broken heart!”

“Besides,” she continued. “I think it’s important that you tell him in person how you feel because honestly, you wouldn’t be in this confusing situation if he just told you himself! Ugh, what an idiot.”

Emma couldn’t help but laugh. “What will I do without you, Harriet?”

“I guess you could just say that I took after my best friend in matchmaking skills, don’t you think?” she smirked.

Rob reentered the room with a big grin on his face. “I got us some discounted tickets, ladies!”

Harriet gasped in excitement. “New York, here we come!”

*

The day of their flight, Emma was overly nervous. When they arrived at Heathrow, she couldn’t stop fiddling with her purse all the way to the boarding gate. As they made way to their seats, she clutched onto the snow globe keychain George had left her years ago and bit her lip as she stared out into the runaway. Harriet noticed how quiet she was and placed her hand on Emma’s.

“It’s going to be fine, Em,” she assured her.

Emma smiled and put her head on Harriet’s shoulder until she fell asleep.

A little more than 8 hours later, the trio arrived at JFK with the sun about to set. The party was that evening and they had to quickly make it to their hotel to get dressed. In the taxi, Emma looked out on the familiar streets she recalled walking through with George that beautiful winter evening. She smiled at the recollection and as they neared the hotel, her heart started beating even faster.

Emma kept it simple and wore one of her glittery black dresses. She was really nervous and didn’t exactly know what to say or expect. But here she was, there was no turning back. Whatever the outcome of tonight would be, she promised herself that she will put it behind her forever.

“Em, you ready?” Harriet called from the doorway.

Emma sighed and nodded. “Yeah, let’s go.”

They met Rob at the lobby who was already waiting in a taxi that he had hailed earlier. They made their way across downtown to another hotel near Times Square where the party was to be held on the rooftop bar. Emma’s heart was pounding as they made their way upstairs.

Then suddenly her heart stopped as she finally saw George standing by the entrance. His back was still turned on them as he was talking to some of their guests. Beside him, Jane looked really pretty in a light pink dress. George’s arm was around her waist as they conversed with their guest.

As the trio approached, George immediately took notice of them and his mouth fell. He hasn’t seen Emma in a year, and when he last saw her, she was a mess with tears and eyeliner all over her face. She was also wearing black back then but the black dress she wore now made her look so beautiful and classy. He absent-mindedly let go of Jane for a second to welcome the approaching party.

“Emma…” he managed to say as she tried to smile at him. “You made it.”

“Hi,” she said softly. For a few moments, they were just looking at each other, quite at a loss for words.

Harriet, on the side, couldn’t contain her smile. Somehow Emma felt this and broke the silence. “Um, this is Harriet, and this is Robert,” she said, introducing the two.

“It’s finally nice to meet you, Harriet,” George said as he offered a hug. Then he turned to Rob with a firm handshake. “Nice to meet you as well, Robert. Thanks for coming, appreciate it.”

“Well, thanks for letting us tag along,” Harriet smiled. “We couldn’t let Emma go on her own, of course.”

“Aha, since when did I need a chaperone, Harriet?” Emma teased awkwardly.

The group laughed lightly and was shortly joined by Jane. “Emma! I’m so glad you could come,” she said as she went in and embraced Emma.

Emma, on the other hand, was startled by the gesture and awkwardly hugged her back. “Thanks,” she muttered.

After more introductions were made, the couple motioned their guests inside as dinner was about to be served. Emma, Harriet, and Rob were invited to sit at the same table as George and Jane were, and this just made Emma want to hide under the table. Sitting across the man she loved who was next to the woman he loved was too painful for her, but she plucked up the courage to get through the night.

To Emma’s surprise and utmost shock, she was invited by Jane to give a speech for the night. “You’re the best person to give that speech Em because if it wasn’t for you, George and I wouldn’t have met!” she insisted.

Oh how Emma wanted to just be eaten by the earth at that moment. “I’m not prepared, Jane…”

“It’s not a problem,” she assured. “Spontaneity is even better because it’s more honest!”

Emma looked at Harriet for help but she knew that there was nothing Harriet could do now except support her and make sure the ground is soft when the earth does swallow her.

Jane finally clinked the wine glass as a signal for Emma to make her speech. Taking a deep breath, Emma stood up awkwardly.

“Hi,” she said, her voice cracking. “Hi everyone… Um, my name is Emma Woodhouse, and I’m uh, a friend of the couple.”

She could feel all eyes on her and she could feel her hands shake. “I uh, I was not told beforehand that I was going to be giving a speech tonight. It was never my forte to talk in front of a lot of people, I’m not used to it, you know, so I apologize…” she stammered.

Then she caught George’s eye who clearly has his gaze fixed on her from the moment she started talking. He was looking at her with a kind of expression that was a mix of sadness, longing, guilt, and hope all rolled into one. Emma took another deep breath and continued.

“Yeah um, so I guess congratulations is in order,” she smiled. “I’ve known Jane in high school, we were classmates, but I’m afraid we didn’t talk very much. She was such an achiever while I was just trying to get through every rotting class,” she chuckled as the room laughed along. 

When the laughter died down, she continued, “But George, um, I’ve known George pretty much my whole life. We grew up together, we know each other’s secrets, each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and um, he was there for me when no one else was. Even when I got drunk for the first time and blacked out on my eighteenth birthday.”

The room burst into a light laughter once more. George swallowed and put his face on his resting hand on the table as he hoped she wouldn’t bring up any more of that night.

Emma stopped as she tried to hold back her tears. “And I’ll always be grateful for you, George… And as my best friend,” she choked. “You’ve brought so much color into my life. So many years have gone by and you were the only constant thing in my life. Your friendship was the reason I am who I am today, and it’s been there even in the darkest of times.”

She could feel her face turning red now but all this time, she was no longer speaking to the crowd but to George directly. He kept a straight face but there was a sad look in his eyes as he listened to every word that Emma said.

“In the recent years, we’ve gone through so much, and I just hope that I didn’t take that for granted,” she said softly. “Because sometimes, I’ve come to realize, the best thing that’s ever happened to you is sitting there right under your nose and you don’t see it until it’s gone…” Emma’s voice faltered and she was on the verge of tears. 

Giving it her last ounce of emotional strength to control them, she continued, “But that’s okay. Because I’ve realized that no matter where you are, or what you’re doing, or who you’re with, I will always, honestly, truly, completely love you.”

There was a momentary silence across the room and it felt like everything around them faded, and it was just the two of them. Emma and George always had a mutual understanding with one another, and the other could easily tell what the other was feeling. This was one of those moments.

Beside Emma, Harriet took a big gulp of the champagne and clutched Rob’s hand, who was equally taking in all that tension.

“Like a sister loves a brother, and a friend loves a friend!” Emma continued, exhaling deeply to eradicate the tension she unintentionally created.

She then got hold of her champagne glass and said, “So please, everyone uh, join me in a toast to George and Jane… May you always be happy.” Her voice broke and Emma took a quick sip of her champagne and slowly sat back down, avoiding eye contact with George completely. She turned to Harriet who was repeatedly telling her that she did great and that she can breathe now.

Moments later, music began to play and people were starting to crowd on the dance floor. Emma sat alone at the table, lost in thought. She took her fourth glass of wine that night and then decided to head out for some air.

She sat on what was probably a closed air vent and watched as the beautiful and lively skyline of New York carried on into the night.

Moments later, she felt someone join her. “I’m okay, Harriet, don’t worry. I just need a moment to breathe, really.”

“Well, I hope it’s not too cold,” came George’s voice.

Surprised, Emma turned around to find him standing with both hands in his pockets. “It’s been cold lately,” he continued. “Not sure why you’d want to be out here alone.”

“I don’t mind the cold,” Emma said flatly.

George pulled a small smile. “Then I hope you don’t mind if I join you?” he asked as he took a seat beside her.

“Aren’t you supposed to be inside with your fiancé?”

George chuckled awkwardly. “Yeah, she’ll be fine,” he said shortly. Changing the subject, he looked at the glass of wine in Emma’s hand. “How many of those have you had?”

“Why, does it matter?” Emma scoffed as she took another sip. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to get drunk at your engagement party,” she teased. 

Then at that moment, a live band started to play from inside the venue. Emma turned around and looked at George.

“You got a live band to play?”

“Well, no, they’re friends at university,” he said. “They wanted to play for us as a gesture, I guess. They love The 1975 so I think that’s much of their set list tonight.”

“Ah, I see.”

_I’ve been in love with her for ages  
And I can’t seem to get it right_

“So,” George took a deep breath. “Your speech…”

“Let’s not talk about it, please,” Emma said, not looking at him.

“Your eighteenth birthday…”

“I said I don’t want to talk about it.”

_I fell in love with her in stages  
My whole life_

“Em, you really don’t remember what happened?”

Emma finally looked at him. “Why are you so pressed about bringing that up? It’s not even important.”

George chuckled shyly. He looked down at his fiddling hands and tried to ignore the fact that the lyrics were resounding of his current emotions. “It was for me, Em…”

_There’s no way for me to say  
That I’ve felt a certain way for ages  
Oh I think our story needs more pages  
‘Cause I’ve been in love with her for ages_

Emma looked at him, confused.

“Before you blacked out,” he began. “Uh, we were dancing, and then the music slowed down. You put your arms around me and uh,” he took a deep breath. 

“We shared a kiss that night,” h finally admitted, feeling his face turn red.

_I’ve been in love with her for ages  
And ages, and ages_

Emma didn’t quite know what to feel or how to respond. George looked at her, waiting for a reply or even a reaction. And just like that, memories of her eighteenth birthday flashed back into her mind. She put the wine glass down and buried her face in her hands, remembering 

“Why… Why are you telling me this now?”

“Because I thought you deserved the truth,” George admitted, tears forming in his eyes. “Because it’s you, Emma. It’s always been you. And I should have told you long before…”

_I’ve been in love with you for ages  
And ages, and ages_

Emma took a deep breath and exhaled. She got the wine glass and finished the entire thing in one go.

“Um, now that you mention it, it is a little chilly… I think I better go inside and find Harriet,” she said. “And uh, we should probably call it a night.”

George sat there as she hastily left, sniffing and wiping the tears now falling from his face.

Back inside, Emma found Harriet who was just hanging out by the bar with Rob. There were only a few people left, most had already gone home for the night.

“There you are! Where have you been?” she inquired.

Emma got hold of her hand and hurriedly said, “It’s done. This is done. It’s over, Harriet.”

Harriet looked confused. “What? What are you talking about? Did you talk to him?”

“Yes, and that’s that,” she said curtly. “Would you guys still want to hang around because I’m really tired and I’d like to go back to the hotel now.”

“Oh, sure,” Harriet said, still confused. “We can go with you-”

“No, on second thought, take your time,” Emma said. “I’ve taken up too much of your time together already, so just go ahead and enjoy the rest of the night, and I’ll see you back at the hotel, okay?”

At that moment, George reappeared inside the venue. He and Emma caught each other’s eye but Emma looked away quickly. “I must go,” she told Harriet.

“Oh, okay…” Harriet said. She looked around and found George giving a small smile towards their direction. He then slowly walked away towards Jane who was by the stage, entertaining guests.

When she turned back around, Emma had already gone.

*

The following morning, Jane insisted to take the group to the airport. Emma wished they didn’t of course, but just so there wouldn’t be any more awkward tension, she decided to go along with it. Anyway, after this, she would put everything behind her like she promised herself.

“It was wonderful to have you all last night,” Jane said as Emma, Harriet, and Rob had gathered their things. She reached in for a hug from each of them, Emma being the first.

“I’m really so happy that you came, Em,” Jane smiled as she embraced her.

“Thanks,” Emma said shortly and gave a small and quick smile. She turned over to George, who awkwardly had his hands in his pockets again. 

“Goodbye, George,” Emma said softly and quickly. He leaned in for a hug and Emma found herself embracing him tightly, not wanting to let go. She felt George’s arms tighten around her too, feeling his longing and warmth in his embrace.

Jane had been observing them intently, and as good-natured as she was, thought it a lovely gesture between the two friends. She felt a slight inkling of jealousy though, but she supposed it was only normal since she cared very much for George.

When Emma finally let go, she gave him one last look and smile, and she was off. Harriet and Rob followed her shortly to the check-in counter. Emma didn’t look back, afraid that George might see the tears now falling from her face.

“Emma, I’m so sorry,” Harriet whispered as they waited at the boarding gate. “I shouldn’t have forced you to come-”

Emma looked up from her book and smiled at her friend. “There’s no need to apologize, Harriet. You did what you thought was best, and I think it was a good idea to come, actually,” she said. “I was finally able to get the closure I wanted.”

Harriet nodded slightly but chose to not say anything. Emma continued to read her book.

“But Harriet,” Emma suddenly continued. Harriet looked up.

“Can I just ask you for one more favor?”

“Of course, Em,” Harriet said.

“When we arrive back home, I ask that we never speak of this again, okay?” Emma said. “I want to close this chapter and finally move on with my life.”

“Definitely, Em,” Harriet replied. “You have my word.”

And as the plane took off that afternoon, Emma stared out the window and took one last look at the beautiful skyline of New York City below them. What a time it has been, she thought, to be able to experience something so wonderful in such a beautiful city. But alas, she’s grown up now, and it was time to move on from this chapter and get on to another.

Emma preserved the image of the sun setting over the city, and as they flew higher and higher into the clouds, she closed her eyes, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly thought the engagement was a little off but just a reminder, I'm sticking to the plot of _Love, Rosie_ as much as I possibly could! So yes, scenes will mostly be taken from that film with necessary adjustments to the original characters of Emma. (2020) (I hope I gave Rosie's iconic speech justice though uwu)
> 
> If you've made it this far, again, thank you for keeping up with this fic and leaving your kudos and comments! I'm both so excited and sad to finally wrap it up in the last chapter. I promise to work on it (sooner than later, if time permits!) and hopefully giving yall a satisfying ending ❤️


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone!!! Gosh, I am SO sorry for making yall wait for a month until I made another -- the final -- update!! 
> 
> I'm so excited to finally share this last and heartwarming chapter with yall, finally wrapping up this fic I've been wanting to come to life for so long LOL
> 
> I intended to post this yesterday, Valentine's Day, because it's also the first year anniversary of Emma. (2020) coming out! But alas, my sleep schedule deprived me to do so, but anyway, it's still the 14th in many parts of the world! :D
> 
> So here it is... The final chapter to my first ever fic :') I really loved working on this, and it's helped me bring my writing skills and imagination back to life. Thank you to everyone who kept up and commented and left kudos... AAAAAAA you guys don't know how much it makes my day to read all of them <33
> 
> So without further ado, please read on to see if Emma does get her happy ending ;) Much love to yall <3

The next few months saw Emma consistently focusing on herself and her art. She finally got her own place, too, using her share from the sale of their house. The apartment was in the same building as Harriet’s so she still spent most of her time with her best friend. But the feeling of having her own place made Emma so satisfied and content that she even turned half of the unit into her own art studio.

And on her art, as she finished a lot more paintings and developed more photographs, Harriet and Rob continued to help her look for a venue for her first exhibit. It seemed like a struggle in the beginning, but Harriet, as always, came through with the perfect place.

One of her classmates at university had parents who were board members at an art gallery in the outskirts of London. Harriet, with her charm and sweetness, was able to pitch in Emma’s work and successfully got her a one-night only exhibit at the gallery.

Emma was ecstatic and speechless at the news. At the ocular visit, she may have even shed some tears of joy. Finally, her lifelong dream coming to life. She wasn’t even aware that she had all of this passion inside of her all along. For Emma, she thought it was just about wanting the attention and spotlight to herself, but the recent years have shown her much more than that.

“Harriet,” Emma gasped as they toured the venue. “I don’t really know what I did to deserve this… and you.”

Harriet smiled at Emma. “Em, it’s because you deserve to be happy. You’ve got so much talent and I don’t know, I just feel like you deserve all of this. Anything for my best friend.”

Emma leaned in and embraced her tightly. For so long she’s been focused on what she has lost, but she hasn’t really noticed what she still had, until now.

*

The night of the exhibit, Emma couldn’t stop pacing. This is it, she’s finally going to open her own gallery and then most likely drink the whole night away after.

“Em!” Harriet exclaimed. “Stop pacing, you’ll get all sweaty.”

“Oh, am I not yet?” Emma replied as she fanned herself with her hand. “You know I hate public speaking.”

Harriet raised both her eyebrows, recalling the last time Emma gave a speech and how that went, but didn’t say anything. Instead, she handed Emma a cold bottle of water and looked over to the growing number of people in the room.

“I think it’s time, Em,” Harriet whispered. She grasped Emma’s hand tightly. “You can do it. Just welcome them and say what you feel, I guess.”

Emma took a deep breath, returned the bottle to Harriet, and took to the stage.

“She looks so nervous,” Rob commented, appearing beside Harriet suddenly.

“Where did you go?!” Harriet whispered loudly, surprised.

“Sorry, babe,” Rob kissed Harriet on the head. “Went for a quick smoke. It looks like it’s going to rain, by the way.”

“Well, she is nervous, but she can do it,” Harried replied.

Up on the mic, Emma stood stunned for a few seconds. Unconsciously, she scanned through the crowd, as if she was looking for someone in particular. She shrugged her head and looked at the note card Harriet prepared, her hand shaking.

“Good evening, everyone,” she began. “I’m… My name is Emma Woodhouse, and I’m delighted to welcome you all to my first ever art exhibit.”

There was a soft applause. Exhaling briefly, she continued, “Uh, we’re only here for one night though, but I’d like to thank you all for the opportunity nevertheless. I guess I can proudly say that I am an amateur artist, and just like any other artist, I would like to share life through art with you.”

She glanced at her note card for a few seconds, took a deep breath, then decided to go impromptu. “These pieces… They’re a reflection of _my_ life. Especially those of the last few years. The photographs, the paintings… You will see how colorful they all are, because that’s just how it was to me. My life was the most colorful in recent years and I’ll never forget it.”

Just as she was about to continue, the door opened and in went Isabella followed by John. They closed the door behind them. This caught Emma’s eye and she forgot what she was going to say next for a moment. It wasn’t until Harriet coached her on the side to continue.

“But, uh… Then my world started to fade from color. In an instant, it went to black and white, and I thought it was the end,” Emma said, her voice shaking. She quickly looked over to Harriet and Rob, who were both beaming up at her. Harriet nodded reassuringly. Emma smiled and continued.

“But the thing is about black and white, you have the chance to turn it back into color. And no one else has the power to do that except the artist. So I guess what I’m trying to say here is… Don’t take the color of your life for granted. If it does turn into grey though, you can always make it colorful again.”

“As an artist, I believe that this is my purpose, to be able to share this with you, but as myself… I think I’m doing this because…” Emma paused to prevent the tears falling from her eyes. “Because I owe it to myself to be happy.”

At that moment, she quickly glanced at her sister who was beaming with pride as John had his arm tightly around her. Emma took a deep breath and changed her tone a bit. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for this to be emotional,” she chuckled as the crowd laughed along with her.

Then she reached for the champagne glass which Harriet handed over to her. “So, um, everyone, again… Thank you all for coming, and I hope you enjoy the evening.” She raised her glass and a much needed applause took place.

As Emma got off the platform, Harriet immediately gave her the tightest and proudest embrace. “You did it!!!”

Emma laughed, a bit of tears rolling down her cheek. “No, Harriet, _we_ did it,” Emma smiled, then up at Rob as well. “I couldn’t have made it this far without you both. I love you guys.”

As group hug was in order, a proud Isabella and John went over to the trio and Emma could have sworn she saw her glum and boring sister slightly prance on the way to them.

“Emma dearest!” Isabella exclaimed. “I’m so so proud of you!”

Emma smiled meekly. “Thank you, Isabella,” she said as she leaned in for a hug. “Thank you for coming.”

“We’re so proud of how far you’ve come, Em,” John smiled warmly as he embraced his little sister-in-law.

“Thanks guys,” Emma said awkwardly.

“Papa would have been so proud of you,” Isabella said sweetly. 

Emma avoided the statement and just nodded then unconsciously started to look around. The couple noticed this and glanced quickly at each other.

“I’m afraid no surprises this time, Emma…” Isabella sighed, and took her sister’s hand. 

Caught off guard, Emma immediately took it away. “No, I’m fine,” she said abruptly and then excused herself to get lost in the crowds to entertain some guests.

Honestly, Emma didn’t know why she felt a bit aloof with her sister and brother-in-law around. They’d obviously shown up to show their support for her, which is probably long overdue. It’s just that Emma really didn’t feel a special relationship with her sister no matter how she tried, and Emma thought of how Harriet and Rob were there for her than she was. She loved her sister, and was sure that Isabella did too, but after everything that had happened, Emma just got so used to being alone after her father died, and Harriet and Rob became her family in the last years since.

*

The night progressed quickly than Emma expected, having talked to a lot of the guests who were very impressed with her work. She couldn’t help but feel incredibly flattered and just in absolute awe of what was happening before her.

As the last guest bid farewell, Emma, Harriet and Rob began wrapping up for the evening. There were a couple of champagne-filled glasses left, and they decided to split it amongst themselves.

“To a successful event!” Harriet exclaimed, raising her glass.

“And to this friendship I’ve come to have as my family,” Emma added, a warm smile on her face.

“Hear hear!” Rob chimed in. The trio laughed and took a sip after their mini toast.

“This was really so crazy, I can’t believe it’s over,” Emma said, putting her glass on the cocktail table.

“Well, I have a feeling that it’s not going to be the last, Em,” Rob winked.

“I totally agree!” Harriet added. “A lot of people were asking about a next one and they’ve left their calling cards and stuff!”

“You guys that’s insane!” Emma exclaimed. “I don’t know how to begin another one just yet… This was all too overwhelming.”

Just then, the gloomy skies outside suddenly started to turn darker, and thunder roared. At that moment, Rob excused himself to go bring their car around the covered driveway of the building in case it started to rain.

When Rob had gone, Harriet looked at Emma, whose attention was clearly somewhere but there. She was staring out the window with a blank look on her face.

“Em,” Harriet said, shaking her back into reality. “Are you good? We’re going to have a celebratory dinner.”

For some reason, this time, Emma wanted to be alone. This was going to be the last time for a while that she’ll have something as big as this. She’d want to take it all in before going.

“Is it okay if I pass for now?” Emma said. “I’ll probably follow, maybe… But I’d like to stay here for a bit and you know, ponder.”

Harriet chuckled at her friend’s choice of words. “Are you sure? We can’t really have a celebratory dinner without the guest of honor, you know.”

Emma laughed. “No, please, go ahead. Call it a date, if you will!”

“Alright, alright,” Harried giggled, blushing. “I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Take care, Harriet,” Emma said as she embraced her best friend.

As Harriet left, Emma continued to stare out into the window and felt a sudden wave of content with the success of her exhibit. But that’s just what it is: content. It wasn’t pure happiness, and she couldn’t really explain why. There was a part of her heart that needed closure and it’s something no kind of success could ever fill.

Deep in thought, she continued to watch the wind brush through the trees and in a little while, it began to drizzle.

Suddenly, as the rain started to pour, she felt another person come into the room. Thinking it was Harriet, Emma turned abruptly only to find that she was mistaken.

Standing at the doorway was the last person she’d expect to come: no other than George, looking dapper in a blue jacket and white polo shirt. He stood with his hands behind his back and a proud yet dear smile on his face.

“Am I too late?” he smiled as he slowly walked towards her.

“Uh…” Emma, at a loss for words, could feel her face turn pink. “We’re just about to close, sir.” She said, trying to hide her smile behind a “professional” image.

He walked closer towards her. Emma then recognized the blue jacket he was wearing was the one she borrowed when they were in New York together. They were only inches apart now, quite like that night she was fixing his bowtie before the prom.

“Well,” he smiled. “Is there a possibility that I might still have a chance?” He said as he looked up directly at her eyes with a look that was dear and full of hope.

Emma couldn’t contain her smile any longer. At that point, Harriet returned into the room and was busy typing on her phone to see what was going on.

“Hey Em, change of plans, we’re having dinner takeaway at home…” her voice drifted away when she finally looked up. “…instead.”

George turned around and grinned. “Hey, Harriet.”

“Hi…” Harriet replied with an expression of utmost disbelief mixed with joy. “I’m uhhh… I’m gonna uh, I’m just gonna tell Rob take out is good… Yup, delivery take away. Great, okay!” Smiling to herself, she immediately turned around on her heel and left the room, her mouth still open in shock.

Emma and George laughed. It was the first time in a long time that they laughed together that way, without having anything to worry about. When the laughter died down, they looked at each other until Emma broke the silence.

“Harriet,” she said. “She’s amazing. I love her. She’s been with me through the ups and downs.”

“She’s a good friend, Em,” George agreed. “I’m happy that she was there for you.”

Another silence fell between them for a moment. Then Emma motioned George to follow her. “So, a tour?”

And as if coming back to reality, George said, “Ah, yeah! Please lead the way, madam.”

As they walked together, Emma felt that everything that had happened was instantly forgotten. They were back to their comfortable and familiar selves like when they were kids again, the kind of feeling Emma longed to have since she can remember. They enjoyed it for a bit then Emma began some more small talk.

“So... When did you get in?”

“Just a while ago.”

“Oh. And you went straight here?”

“Yeah, but it was traffic, plus the rain made it much worse.”

Emma laughed. “Ah well, jolly old London!” She looked at him. “So when are you going back?”

George stopped. “I’m... not going back, Em.”

“What?” Emma stopped, too. “But Jane—“

“Knew my feelings more than I did, apparently,” George chuckled. He bowed his head a bit in embarrassment.

Emma was quiet and waited for a clearer response.

“We both knew it wasn’t right, Em,” George continued. “From the very first day when we went to prom together. There was no real spark. Jane is a wonderful and smart girl, but I’m not the guy for her. And she knew that too, apparently. But she was never bitter about it, bless her. She has the kindest heart.”

“I see...” was all Emma could reply.

“You know the thing about Jane is that she’s a very wise person,” George said, fiddling with his watch. “She would give me advice often. You know what was the last advice that she gave me?”

“To get a new haircut?” Emma teased, trying to divert the conversation.

“To follow my heart,” he replied, dead serious, and took Emma’s hands into his own. “That’s why I came home, Emma. Because my heart is here... with you.”

Emma was now totally at a loss for words.

George cupped her cheek with his hand. “It’s you, Em. It’s always been you.”

Emma opened her mouth but nothing came out. Instead, tears started rolling from her face.

“You’re never going to be alone again, Em,” George promised. “I will never lose you to anyone else ever again.”

“I…”

George’s eyes then fell from her eyes to her lips. As he slowly leaned in, Emma’s eyes were swelling with tears of joy. In an instant, the night of her eighteenth birthday flashed before her eyes, much like the missing piece of a puzzle. As she felt the touch of George’s lips on her own, she immediately wrapped her arms around him as his hands went from her cheeks to her waist and pulled her closer.

As they let go for a moment, George never stopped looking at her. Emma looked down for a bit, blushing at what had just happened.

“I never thought…” she began.

“Never thought what?” George whispered.

“That I could still be happy, despite everything.”

George smiled at her. “I wish I could describe to you how I feel about you, Em, how much I’ve loved you for so long. It’s just that… I could only talk about it more if I loved you any less.”

Emma giggled at the cheesy attempt, but it worked well on her. Seeing her smile once more, George pulled her closer for another kiss, this time lifting her off her feet and carrying her in his arms so she would be even closer to him.

At that moment, the stormy weather outside caused the gallery to look dimmer, with only few of its lights left open, forming a silhouette of the two. This setting pretty much contributed to the couple’s steamy declaration of their longtime hidden love for each other, and they ended up leaving the gallery they had to themselves a little later that evening.

They rejoined Harriet and Rob in their apartment for the celebratory takeout dinner, and had a few drinks before returning to Emma’s apartment where George would eventually end up moving into.

To say that they finally lived happily ever after is an understatement and only happens in the movies. But this was real life for Emma Woodhouse, and she would never have to be alone again, it’s true, for she eventually ended up marrying her best friend a year later. And throughout her struggle to find happiness, she found the love that has been there all along.


End file.
